‘More Confusing by the Minute’: DHS Negotiations Are at a Standstill

With Transportation Security Administration shortages leading to longer lines at airports across the country, Democrats and Republicans are no closer to a deal to fund the Department of Homeland Security.

It’s unclear whether Democrats even plan to continue trading offers with the White House.

Negotiations have been at a standstill since the White House sent Democrats what it called a “serious counter offer” on Feb. 26. President Donald Trump’s announcement that the agency’s secretary, Kristi Noem, would be replaced by Sen. Markwayne Mullin didn’t lead to a deal. Ongoing effects from the shutdown haven’t either.

Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin said Wednesday that talks between the Senate and the White House don’t seem to be progressing at all.

“[Senate Majority Leader John] Thune keeps passing it off to the White House,” Durbin told NOTUS. “I assume he understands that unless the president approves it, it’s not going forward. And I don’t think there is an exchange of dialogue between Democrats and the White House going on.”

When asked if Democrats will respond to the White House’s most recent offer, Sen. Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, did not say.

“We have been telling the [White House] what our needs are and are waiting to hear from them,” Murray told reporters Wednesday.

Sen. Chris Murphy, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, said later on Wednesday that Democrats are planning to continue to work with the Trump administration.

“It’s just, they haven’t shown a real willingness to fix the underlying crisis at the department,” Murphy said.

Senators have disagreed publicly about the path forward for talks. Sen. Katie Britt, who leads the Subcommittee on Homeland Security, said Tuesday that Democrats refuse to sit down with Senate Republicans to discuss a plan to end the shutdown.

“This whole thing is disingenuous,” Britt said. “It’s insincere, and it’s about politics … You cannot find a pathway forward if you don’t sit down.”

But Democrats have said that they see no reason to talk to Republicans, citing leadership’s direction that they negotiate with the White House.

“This is more confusing by the minute,” Murphy told reporters Tuesday. “[Thune] was complaining that Sen. Murray wouldn’t negotiate with him after they told us to go negotiate with the White House, which we’ve been doing.”

Murphy added on Wednesday that Democrats would take any instruction from Senate leadership that would help move discussions along.

“I think they still want us to talk to both the White House and Senate Republicans at the same time,” Murphy said. “So are we going to negotiate two bills, one with the White House and one with Senate Republicans? And we’ll close our eyes and pick one?”

Both sides are frustrated by the lack of movement. Thune and Murray sparred on the Senate floor Wednesday afternoon after the Democratic senator moved to fund the agencies under DHS, with the exception of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection. Britt also proposed a continuing resolution to extend current DHS funding levels.

“Look, this bill needs to move together and law enforcement is an important function of the federal government,” Thune told reporters Wednesday. “The question that should be posed to Democrats is, if they’re so interested in reforms, why do they want us to do something like that, which does nothing to reform ICE?”

Democrats are asking that any bill to fund DHS include certain reforms to ICE and CBP, including requirements for judicial warrants, limits on officers wearing masks and an end to roving patrols. Their demands came after federal immigration agents shot and killed two U.S. citizens in Minnesota.

But Thune said that the White House has done more than enough to appease Democrats’ demands, noting that Noem is expected to be replaced with Mullin, who has “good, strong relationships on the other side of the aisle.”

“This is what the Democrats have been fighting for,” Thune said. “They wanted a change and a shake-up in the leadership, and it’s now happening. And you know, it’s not just at the very top. I think there have been a number of changes that have been made, and some will be made in the overall leadership structure over there.”

Murray said that Democrats want concrete reforms, not changes to the department’s leadership structure, in order to vote for a full-year funding package or a short-term stopgap funding measure.

“I have been very clear: They need to be serious about reforms to ICE and make it clear they’ll be at the table to discuss the incidents I just talked about, and willing to work with us to make sure that they’re held accountable,” Murray said.