DHS shutdown tied for second-longest ever as Dems again block funding amid airport chaos, terrorism concerns
Long airport lines and rising concerns about threats at home weren’t enough to stop Senate Democrats from blocking Homeland Security funding again Friday.
It’s the fifth time Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and Senate Republicans have tried to reopen the agency. The latest failed attempt comes as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown hit its 35th day, tying it for the second-longest shutdown in history.
As airport lines stretch for blocks and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents go without pay, and concerns about further attacks in the U.S. increase after two shootings last week, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and his caucus aren’t budging.
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They have tried several times to force votes on standalone funding bills for other portions of DHS that don’t involve immigration operations, including several attempts to pay TSA agents, which have been blocked.
"Republicans are saying unless you pass ICE as is without reform, we're not going to help the TSA workers get paid and reduce the lines at the airport," Schumer said.
Thune told Fox News Digital that Democrats have been beholden to their base and forced into a position to continue blocking government funding in a bid to defund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
"The question is," Thune said, "[Are] any number of Democrats going to be willing to actually make a deal and have enough respect for the appropriations process and for the job that we have here to keep the government functioning, to step up and do what may be a hard thing, even though their base is, you know, screaming at them to do something else."
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Still, there was slight movement this week that could signal an off-ramp is forming.
Democrats, after over two weeks of radio silence, sent the White House another counteroffer. The administration dubbed it an unserious effort by Democrats and, in response, made public a list of five concessions it was willing to offer to reopen DHS.
"The parties remain far apart, in large part because the administration has put forward a five-part serious proposal that we are willing to engage in additional conversations on, but that has not been reciprocated in kind," a senior White House official said earlier this week.
But that offer and public counter led to a closed-door meeting with border czar Tom Homan on Capitol Hill on Thursday, where Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine; Katie Britt, R-Ala.; Angus King, I-Maine; Maggie Hassan, D-N.H.; and Patty Murray, D-Wash., had the first real face-to-face meeting of the shutdown.
That same group is expected to meet again on Friday, Thune said.
"I think we’re going to know today whether we’re actually serious about getting a deal," he said.
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It also comes as the Senate is moving to confirm Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., President Donald Trump's pick to replace embattled DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. He eked out a committee approval thanks to support from Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., but faces a hostile Democratic crowd in the Senate.
Schumer and Democrats demanded Noem’s firing, and Mullin made concessions during his confirmation hearing that his colleagues across the aisle have been demanding for weeks — most notably his willingness to require judicial warrants for ICE agents to enter homes in most cases.
Still, Democrats were unswayed. They plan to force a vote on just funding TSA, which will also likely fail.
And Thune isn’t keen on letting lawmakers leave Washington, D.C., again until the government reopens, given that after next week, they’ll get a two-week break for Easter.
"It needs to get resolved, you know, by the end of next week," Thune said. "I can't see us taking a break if the government is still shut down."