'Insufficient': Dems reject Trump's DHS proposal

IN THIS EDITION

Dems reject W.H. counteroffer with 3 days until DHS shutdown

Johnson faces a tariff rebellion

ICE, CBP leaders set for Dem grilling

Tech: Senators join the broadcast caps debate

THE TOP

Dems reject W.H. counteroffer with 3 days until DHS shutdown

Happy Tuesday morning.

News. A brand new edition of The Tally — our campaign special publication — will be out this morning. The Top will feature a lengthy and newsy interview with Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), conducted by our own John Bresnahan and Andrew Desiderio. Check your inboxes at 10 a.m.

Crunch time. Democratic leaders rejected a White House counteroffer on DHS reforms in a late-night statement on Monday, complaining that the GOP proposal “included neither details nor legislative text.”

Earlier Monday, Senate GOP leaders were trying to lay the groundwork to pass another short-term DHS funding patch. They were working closely with the White House to convince enough Senate Democrats that negotiations are on the right track as Friday’s shutdown deadline looms.

But the joint statement from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries made clear that persuading even a small handful of Democratic senators to support a stopgap measure will be a heavy lift.

“The initial GOP response is both incomplete and insufficient in terms of addressing the concerns Americans have about ICE’s lawless conduct. Democrats await additional detail and text,” Schumer and Jeffries said.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune has been striking an unmistakably optimistic tone about the negotiations, knowing that’s the key to securing enough Democratic support for a short-term funding patch. The exchange of offers was a sign that there’s some level of horse-trading going on as the deadline nears.

“Obviously there’s a lot of work ahead but I think the sides are engaged in good-faith efforts at trying to find common ground,” Thune said. “[Democratic support] depends on how well the negotiations are going and whether it looks like there’s a pathway to success. And based on what I’m familiar with about the discussions so far, I think there is.”

The political dynamics. The White House is incentivized to say these are serious negotiations, even if most Hill Republicans doubt that they can reach a final accord with Democrats — or want to. For their part, Democrats want to look like they’re working hard to secure their priorities without shutting down DHS, a massive department of 260,000-plus employees.

Plus, everyone wants to resolve this by Thursday night, when dozens of senators are scheduled to head to the Munich Security Conference and other CODELs ahead of a weeklong recess.

It’s in Thune’s interest to facilitate a process Democrats can feel good about, especially amid pressure from progressives opposed to DHS funding. Thune will need around eight Democratic senators to vote for a short-term funding patch.

Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, who voted to end or avert previous shutdowns, said that evidence of “real, honest negotiations” can prompt enough Democrats to support a short-term continuing resolution for DHS.

Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), who voted to end the 43-day government shutdown last year, told us she could support a short-term CR if there’s progress on applying “guardrails” to ICE agents’ conduct.

“What I want to see is the same rules, guardrails that our FBI go by and that our state and law enforcement go by,” Rosen said.

We asked Jeffries about whether he thinks Republicans are serious about cutting a deal. Here’s what he said, in part:

MAGA muscle memory. Even as they attempt to cut a deal with Democrats, Thune and GOP leaders are facing renewed pressure from the right not to make a deal. Republican senators closest to the MAGA movement, most notably Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), are urging Republicans to reject Democrats’ demands and push for policy priorities of their own.

“More and more Republicans see that it’s not smart for us to be capitulating to Democrats on core issues like taking on illegal immigration,” Schmitt told us. “This is a core issue for the coalition that allowed us to have these majorities.”

There’s even some resistance to a short-term funding patch that’s solely for the purpose of allowing more time for a negotiation. Conservatives like Schmitt don’t believe it’s necessary.

“I don’t think that adding two weeks or three weeks for quote-unquote continued negotiations on something that we’re not gonna just agree to their demands — if anything, I think our position will harden,” Schmitt added.

Thune is planning to take initial procedural steps on the floor later today for a DHS CR. The duration of the funding patch will be subject to negotiation, Thune added. Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), a member of Thune’s leadership team, said GOP leaders prefer a four- or six-week extension.

“Let’s do a CR that actually matters. Another two weeks probably isn’t gonna get there,” Mullin said. “But if they want to keep hodgepodgeing two weeks at a time, I guess we’ll do whatever we have to.”

— Andrew Desiderio, Jake Sherman and John Bresnahan

OVERSIGHT WATCH

Johnson faces a tariff rebellion

House Republican leaders are on the brink of losing a key procedural vote today as Speaker Mike Johnson once again asks GOP moderates to give President Donald Trump a pass on tariffs.

Johnson’s leadership team added a provision to the rule being voted on this afternoon that would ban members from bringing up resolutions challenging Trump’s tariff regime. The ban would remain in place until August.

Johnson has done this multiple times during this Congress to protect Trump. But now, moderates have grown sick of it.

Reps. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) and Kevin Kiley (R-Calif.) both told us they’re likely to vote no, breaking with Johnson and Trump.

“I made it clear that I’m not in favor of that,” said Kiley, who opposed Johnson’s last extension of the blockade.

Bacon said tariffs aren’t good for the economy, manufacturing jobs or the agriculture industry.

“American consumers pay the tariffs and thus it is a big tax,” Bacon added. “I support giving these authorities back to Congress.”

The White House legislative affairs team and the House Republican leadership are working this vote hard. Neither the administration nor Johnson’s leadership team wants to see a flood of tariff disapproval resolutions hit the House floor, as Democrats are planning to do.

But as we’ve seen a number of times in recent weeks, rank-and-file House Republicans are looking out for their own political interests as the midterm elections grow near and aren’t as interested in Trump’s priorities.

With full attendance, it would take only two Republican defections to sink the rule. These are typically party-line votes.

But the vote could be close. Some other House GOP moderates are willing to block tariff votes a while longer, especially with the Supreme Court expected to rule on Trump’s regime soon.

Democrats are also going to offer a procedural motion that would effectively allow the House to strike the tariff language in the rule but maintain the rest of the measure.

The stakes. If Johnson’s effort fails, he’ll immediately have to deal with the fallout.

House Democrats are likely to force a vote on Wednesday on their resolution overturning Trump’s Canada tariffs. That would be a very difficult vote for House Republicans. Johnson told us he’ll need help from the White House if the administration wants to defeat it.

Trump can ultimately veto the resolution if it makes it to his desk. But that sort of rebuke from Congress would still do political damage to Trump.

Democrats’ strategy. House Democrats are preparing to send a wave of tariff votes to the floor.

Rep. Greg Meeks (N.Y.), top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, has for months been introducing privileged resolutions to challenge Trump’s trade wars. A measure to overturn Trump’s tariffs on Mexico could be called up as soon as this week.

Another aimed at Brazil tariffs would likely be ready during the last week of February. After that, Democrats would challenge Trump’s global tariffs.

House Democrats are planning to tee up these votes one at a time in the hope it maximizes pressure on wavering Republicans. Meeks is coordinating with Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and factoring in the timeline for forcing Senate votes on any successful resolutions.

— Laura Weiss, Jake Sherman and John Bresnahan

OVERSIGHT WATCH

ICE, CBP leaders set for Dem grilling

The leaders of ICE and CBP will testify in front of the House Homeland Security Committee on Tuesday, marking their first appearance before Congress since the national outcry over the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens in Minnesota.

Democrats are planning on pressing ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons and CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott on whether the agencies are shifting their posture following the Minneapolis incidents. Ranking Member Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) said the hearing will be “just the start of a reckoning for the Trump administration and its weaponization of government.”

Committee Republicans scheduled the hearing shortly after federal agents shot and killed Alex Pretti on Jan. 24. Pretti’s death came weeks after a protester, Renee Good, was fatally shot by an ICE agent. The two killings, which were captured on video, shocked many Americans already concerned with how the Trump administration was carrying out its deportation plan.

The oversight hearing also comes as congressional leaders and the White House are trying to hammer out a funding deal for DHS before Friday. Top Democrats released their list of DHS reforms last Wednesday, seeking sweeping changes that the party claims are necessary to stop federal immigration agents from using brutal tactics in carrying out arrests.

Zoom out. In the weeks since Pretti’s death, President Donald Trump transferred Border Patrol commander-at-large Gregory Bovino to another post and brought in border czar Tom Homan to oversee operations in Minneapolis. Homan announced shortly after taking charge that hundreds of federal agents would be leaving the city.

“I think putting Tom Homan in charge is the right thing to do,” said Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), a Homeland Security Committee Republican. “Homan and the ICE director will say that these roving patrols have been stopped, and now they’re getting back to the core mission of ICE, which is to go in and remove criminal aliens.”

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said the Trump administration officials that are testifying “should apologize to the American people for using their taxpayer dollars to unleash wicked brutality on the American people.”

Homeland Security Committee Chair Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.) told SiriusXM last week that he hopes the hearing “can at least do some good to calm down the rhetoric.” Garbarino said he hopes the directors can explain more about the training that officers receive.

“I think we need to get some questions asked and make everybody feel comfortable about what ICE, USCIS and CBP are doing, what their goals are, and what they’re trying to accomplish,” Garbarino said.

The head of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Joseph Edlow, is also testifying.

The three Trump officials — Lyons, Scott and Edlow — will also appear at a Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee hearing on Thursday.

— Max Cohen

Tech: Senators join the broadcast caps debate

The Senate Commerce Committee is placing the spotlight on a massive lobbying fight just days after President Donald Trump shook up the debate.

The panel is holding a hearing this morning on the national media ownership cap that prohibits broadcasters from reaching more than 39% of U.S. households. Taking center stage in this debate is the Nexstar-Tegna merger that would blow through that threshold and has been endorsed by both Trump and Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr.

Any changes to the decades-old cap would have wide repercussions for the media industry and consumers, allowing for greater consolidation in the broadcasting business. Whether that’s good or bad is what this lobbying brawl has been about.

“Broadcasters are fighting to stay competitive against media and tech companies with national, and often global, reach,” Senate Commerce Committee Chair Ted Cruz (R-Texas) will say in his opening statement today. “Ownership rules were written in a vastly different technological age.”

Yet, Cruz won’t go as far as supporting lifting the threshold. Rather, he’ll say he wants to hear the different “perspectives” on the issue.

Trump factor. The hearing comes days after Trump said the Nexstar-Tegna deal would bring “more competition” against national networks.

Trump’s comments were a big blow to supporters of the 39% cap. That includes conservative outlets like Newsmax and One America News Network, which could be forced to go up against more powerful rivals with wider reach. It also includes programming distributors in the cable and satellite businesses that may face higher retransmission rates.

Trump wasn’t “fully informed on this matter, and as more information comes along, we hope that he would reconsider and change his position on it,” Newsmax CEO Christopher Ruddy, one of the hearing’s witnesses, said in an interview.

Carr said the president was “right” about the merger and that the FCC would “get it done.” Carr could issue a one-time waiver for the companies or change the cap altogether. Either move would likely create a fight in the courts.

Ruddy and Democrats on the panel are expected to argue that only lawmakers can change the cap since the level was established by Congress in 2004.

Local media angle. Meanwhile, National Association of Broadcasters President Curtis LeGeyt will argue in the hearing that the affiliate groups are the ones who can keep local journalism going.

In an interview, LeGeyt said the industry has been dealing with fierce competition from Big Tech, which has dominated the advertising market for over two decades.

– Diego Areas Munhoz

AND THERE’S MORE…

The Campaign. United Democracy Project, AIPAC’s super PAC, is going on air with a TV ad boosting Chicago Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin in Illinois’ 7th District.

Conyears-Ervin is in a crowded Democratic field vying to succeed retiring Rep. Danny Davis (D-Ill.) in his Chicago-area seat. This is the group’s next major spend of the cycle after the New Jersey special election last week.

Also: Michigan Families for Fair Care is running an attack ad hitting Rep. John James (R-Mich.) on tariffs. The ad, featuring a local carpenter negatively impacted by tariffs, is part of a $112,000 buy.

Credit card wars. Americans for Tax Reform is launching a new TV ad that bashes the Credit Card Competition Act and proposed a 10% cap on interest rates, both ideas recently embraced by President Donald Trump.

The group, founded by Grover Norquist, is spending $250,000 on the spot as part of a broader campaign that’s got $700,000 behind it so far. “Taking away our credit isn’t affordability,” the ad says. “It’s failure.”

Fundraiser watch. Dan Osborn, the independent candidate running against Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), will be in D.C. on Tuesday for a fundraiser hosted by former Democratic Rep. Ron Kind (D-Wis.).

— Laura Weiss, Max Cohen and Ally Mutnick

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