Trump haggles over Homeland Security funding with Democrats
White House haggles over homeland security funding with shutdown deal in sight
The Senate could vote as soon as Thursday night on a White House-brokered deal to fund the government as Democrats haggle with President Donald Trump over how long to give separate negotiations over Department of Homeland Security spending.
Under an emerging agreement to keep the government open past a Friday night shutdown deadline, the Senate would pass five bills that cover the vast majority of federal spending and punt a decision on DHS, which has become embroiled in controversy over the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti on Saturday.
Instead, the Senate would send the House a funding patch of at least two weeks for DHS, a move designed to give Democrats and the White House space to reach a compromise on how to curtail the conduct of immigration agents.
The remaining sticking point is the length of that funding patch, also known as a continuing resolution. Democrats want a two-week extension, while Republicans are pressing for four or even six weeks.
“That’s a long time, way too long,” said Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN), who represents the state where Pretti was killed by Border Patrol agents.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) also faced a setback earlier in the day when seven of his Republican colleagues voted against moving ahead with the funding legislation, raising objections on everything from its abortion language to the lack of funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Leadership expects those protests will be resolved by the time the Senate schedules a final vote, with Thune predicting that Republicans and a sizable number of Democrats will come around, given that most of the funding legislation enjoys bipartisan support.
“I’m hopeful that we’ll have a good, strong vote on both sides,” he told the Washington Examiner.
But first, Republicans need to lay the groundwork for Senate passage, including a series of amendments senators are requesting to fast-track a vote. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), who opposed the procedural step earlier in the day, said that he will let the funding legislation move forward if he gets a vote to strip out $5 billion in “refugee welfare money” in the Health and Human Services bill.
Others suggested that they would not hold up its passage and merely wanted to register their upset on the initial vote.
“I’m not going to be doing any blocking,” said Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), another Republican “no” vote.
There are some questions about how the House, currently on a one-week recess, will pass the bill, given that its members are out of town. But one option House Republicans are considering is whether to “voice vote” the five spending bills once they clear the Senate, meaning they could be sent to the president even with sparse attendance.
“We’re trying to see, is there a possible way to do a voice vote over there,” said Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), an adviser to Thune. “I think that’ll be difficult, but it’s possible.”
WHITE HOUSE STEPS UP FUNDING TALKS WITH SENATE DEMOCRATS AS SHUTDOWN GROWS NEAR
Thune even suggested to reporters that the White House may not declare a shutdown if the House is about to act but hasn’t by Friday at midnight.
A funding patch for DHS would stave off a more difficult debate over how to reform immigration enforcement after the shooting deaths of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis this month. Democrats released a set of “legislative objectives” to rein in ICE on Wednesday, naming a ban on face masks and the end of “roving patrols” among their demands to extend funding beyond the short-term patch.
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