DHS Shutdown Likely as Talks Between Senate Democrats and White House Stall

Just two days before a funding deadline, stalled negotiations between Senate Democratic leadership and the White House are tanking prospects to avoid a shutdown for the Department of Homeland Security.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters Wednesday that unless the White House comes back to Democrats with legislative text of a funding bill that includes reforms to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations, Democrats would not vote for any proposal to fund DHS.

“You never know with them, but as we have said before, if they don’t propose something that’s strong, that reins in ICE, that ends the killing, don’t expect our votes,” Schumer told reporters Wednesday.

Some lawmakers are introducing last-ditch efforts to fund at least parts of the department by its Friday deadline, but many concede a funding lapse is inevitable. The chair of the House Appropriations Committee, Rep. Tom Cole, told NOTUS on Wednesday that he’s “afraid” a shutdown will happen, but it depends on action in the Senate.

Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin also used the word “afraid” when describing his thoughts on a shutdown to NOTUS after Democrats rejected a White House counterproposal, discounting it as an unserious offer.

Any bill in the Senate, including one to extend current funding levels to avoid an immediate shutdown, would need 60 votes to pass and require some support from Democrats.

Senate Republicans are countering Democrats’ requests with a stopgap measure to extend current funding levels for the government for a short period of time, Sen. Markwayne Mullin told reporters. Mullin, a Republican appropriator, said conversations between Schumer and the White House “haven’t been unproductive,” and the White House backs a continuing resolution, or “CR,” to allow negotiations to continue.

“The feeling is right now, with the conversations, we’re trying to figure out a clean CR,” Mullin said. “We’ve offered a clean CR. I’d like to see four weeks. They haven’t gave back a rebuttal on it yet.”

Schumer said that Democrats do not plan to support any short-term funding without seeing more details from the White House, including legislative text that directs some restrictions on ICE.

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat who voted to end the longest shutdown in history last fall, also told NOTUS on Wednesday that she thinks DHS is headed toward a shutdown — unless conversations between Democratic leadership and the White House pick back up.

“We have not gotten legislative text, as I understand. People are still waiting for that,” Shaheen told NOTUS. “Unless we see reforms, there’s no interest in continuing to fund ICE.”

Some lawmakers from both parties are set to attend the Munich Security Conference that runs from Friday through Sunday, coinciding with the potential funding lapse for DHS. Both chambers are scheduled to be on recess next week.

“I have to tell you, I’d be personally embarrassed to be getting on a plane to go to Europe to talk about the defense of Europe when you haven’t finished the defense in the United States, and we’re putting all these families in bad situations,” Cole said about a long-planned congressional delegation to the annual security conference. “I just think it’s an embarrassing spectacle for the Senate.”

“People have to make their own decisions about that,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said about the event. “We’re not canceling trips.”

“If it doesn’t look like we’re coming in on a solution, then we’ll probably make people come back,” Thune added later on Wednesday evening.

But lawmakers are trying to come up with a solution before then. On Tuesday night, Thune started the process to bring up a full-year House-passed Homeland Security bill that the Senate had previously stripped from its final funding package. But leaders say that could also serve as a vehicle for a short-term continuing resolution to allow talks to continue.

The House Appropriations Committee’s ranking member, Rep. Rosa DeLauro, introduced a bill on Wednesday that would fund departments under the DHS umbrella except for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection and the secretary’s office while negotiations continue for reforms within those agencies.

DeLauro said in a statement that she would not provide a “single dime” for those two agencies without changes to their operations. “If Republican leadership blocks this legislation from moving forward, they are responsible for any shuttered agencies, furloughed workers, missed paychecks, or reduced services.”

Some Republican lawmakers are more open to that approach than others. Cole told NOTUS that DeLauro’s proposal was “something I would seriously look at,” but it would have been more helpful several weeks ago. Either way, Cole said he wants to “keep as much of the government open” as he can.

Rep. Mark Amodei, the chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, said Wednesday that he was going to look at DeLauro’s proposal.

“If it was clean, it would be phenomenally interesting. And listen, she’s got as much right to do it as anyone, and I think the world of Rosa,” Amodei told NOTUS, but he added that he doesn’t agree with everything the proposal may do.

Other lawmakers, including senior appropriators, said the proposal is a bad idea.

“Not happening,” Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso said on X.

Durbin told NOTUS that Democratic leadership is “still trying to find an agreement,” when asked about the appetite for DeLauro’s proposal in the Senate.

As the deadline nears, lawmakers have been pointing to, and relying on, Senate Democratic leadership and the White House to pull off some kind of deal.

“Those conversations go on,” Thune said. “It’s principally the Senate Democrats and the White House right now. I mean, we’re party to it, but they would work it out.”

“You really need to ask the Democrats and the White House. That’s where the negotiations are largely occurring,” Sen. Susan Collins, the chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, told reporters Wednesday night.

Cole said his office has had “plenty of contact” with the White House on the staff level, but “now, this is pretty much a negotiation between the White House and Schumer.”

Sen. Tim Kaine, a Democrat who voted to reopen the government in November, added that Trump and Schumer have a long history of negotiating.

“Trump certainly feels that he knows Schumer and vice versa,” Kaine told reporters Wednesday. “That probably means they get to skip a lot of the preliminaries.”

Sen. Mike Rounds, a Republican appropriator, told reporters Tuesday that it’s imperative for Trump to be involved in the negotiations to fund the agency.

“Again, it’s up to the White House and the Senate Democrats to find that path, because whatever we come up with, the president would have to sign,” Rounds said. “We want to make sure that the president is on board with whatever negotiations.”

And House members say they haven’t been asked for their two cents.

“Any role the House might be playing, as soon as the House gets a role from Chuck and the administration, I’ll let you know,” Amodei told NOTUS.