Breaking overnight: The White House sent Democrats text of their offer for Department of Homeland Security funding on Wednesday night, a last-minute bid to avoid a shutdown for the massive department and its 260,000 employees.
Democrats are still reviewing the White House’s proposal now that they have it in full legislative form; Trump administration officials had previously sent it as a letter. But Democratic leaders have already bashed this offer as inadequate, so it’s very unlikely the proposal will be enough to avoid a DHS shutdown on Friday.
Senate GOP leaders are planning multiple votes today in a bid to break the logjam. Senators will take a procedural vote on the House-passed DHS funding bill, which would require support from a handful of Democrats in order to move forward.
If that vote fails as expected, it’s likely Senate Republican leaders will then try to pass a stopgap funding measure for DHS. But if there’s no breakthrough in Senate Democrats’ negotiations with the White House, this is all just a futile exercise.
Here’s the bottom line: Barring some dramatic turnaround, Congress will leave town today without having funded DHS, triggering a shutdown of the department. Some agencies within DHS — ICE and CBP — have already been funded via last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill, making it unclear how this crisis will ultimately play out.
The closure of other agencies under DHS like TSA, FEMA and the Coast Guard could have wide-ranging impacts. Plus, this all comes after last fall’s record-breaking government shutdown. It’s actually the third full or partial shutdown of this Congress.
The House and Senate will each be leaving for a week-long recess. Numerous lawmakers are scheduled for travel abroad, including to the Munich Security Conference, although CODELs for House members will be canceled if there’s a DHS shutdown. Senators will be warned they may need to return if there’s a breakthrough on DHS funding.
State of talks. Senate Majority Leader John Thune has been trying to nudge negotiations along and make the case that the White House is operating in good faith. In an effort to move things along, Thune made clear on Wednesday that even with senators leaving town, he’ll hold a vote as soon as possible if there’s a deal.
“I think it’s important that the people at the negotiating table double down and sharpen their pencils and strike a deal, in which case we’ll vote on it,” Thune said.
But as of Wednesday evening, Senate Democrats said they weren’t seeing enough concessions from the White House over ICE reform to support a short-term funding patch.
“If they don’t propose something that’s strong, that reins in ICE, that ends the killing — don’t expect our votes,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer warned.
Several of the Democrats who voted to end the last shutdown are also dug in, saying the White House must be willing to do more to crack down on ICE after federal agents shot and killed two people in Minneapolis.
“All we’re proposing is that ICE abide by the same rules that police forces — state police and municipal police — abide by across the country. Pretty straight forward,” Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) said. “The fact that they won’t accept that is pretty chilling.”
The messaging war. With a DHS shutdown looking likely, the two sides are already battling over who’s to blame for the standoff.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro (Conn.), House Democrats’ top appropriator, introduced a bill to fund each agency under DHS except for ICE and CBP. DeLauro said Republicans will be at fault if funding for these agencies lapses. Senate Democrats have also pointed to their support for other pieces of the funding bill.
Yet Republicans would never go for that. Such a move would dramatically raise the likelihood of a prolonged shutdown of ICE and CBP, Republicans say.
“This is a home game for us, so if they want to keep talking about illegal immigration, I’m all for it,” Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) said. “But they shouldn’t be shutting down FEMA and TSA in the process.”
Miller’s massive money week. GOP lobbyist Jeff Miller raised roughly $27 million for House and Senate Republicans at a pair of D.C. fundraisers this week. This is a stunning amount of money for two fundraisers in one week.
The NRCC fundraiser was Tuesday night, and the House Republican leaders attended. The event raked in $13 million. The NRSC fundraiser raised $14 million. Both fundraisers were held at the Waldorf Astoria. Several Cabinet secretaries, as well as senior staff from the Hill and White House, were in attendance. You don’t hear about too many eight-digit fundraising weeks orchestrated by one person.
Correction: An earlier version of this story said Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) introduced a bill to fund each agency under DHS in addition to ICE and CBP. DeLauro’s bill would fund each DHS agency except for ICE and CBP.
