Mullin’s Testimony Is Giving New Life to DHS Shutdown Talks

Sen. Markwayne Mullin, President Donald Trump’s nominee to head the Department of Homeland Security, pledged at his confirmation hearing on Wednesday that DHS would revert to the practice of requiring judicial warrants for Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to enter homes and businesses under his leadership.

That’s a change from outgoing DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s tenure and fulfills a key demand from Democrats, who remain in talks with the White House to reopen DHS. The shutdown entered a second month with little sign of movement. Democrats continue to insist that reforms of ICE and Customs and Border Patrol be included in any funding bill to reopen the agency.

“I have made it very clear to the staff,” Mullin said, “that a judicial warrant will be used to go into houses or to place of businesses unless we are pursuing someone who enters into that place. I have not minced words with that and I haven’t changed my opinion on that.”

But Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who asked Mullin for his stance on the use of warrants during the hearing, told NOTUS that change isn’t likely to be enough to convince his party to shift their position on the shutdown.

Mullin and the White House would have to fulfill the rest of the Democrats’ demands, which include prohibiting ICE officers from wearing masks and an end to roving patrols, for Blumenthal to vote to fund the agency, he said. He added that he expected the rest of the caucus to agree. Any DHS funding bill needs 60 votes, mandating some bipartisan support.

“It’s one of the reforms that we’re seeking but by no means all of the basic changes in policy and practices that are necessary for this agency to be lawful,” Blumenthal said, adding he “doesn’t know” if Mullin will help negotiations proceed at a faster pace.

A senior White House official said that Mullin’s stance on judicial warrants is proof that he will lead the department differently than Noem, and the shift on the issue was blessed by the White House itself.

Mullin’s testimony was the latest development in the negotiations around DHS after the White House sent Democrats their latest offer on Tuesday afternoon. The letter, obtained by NOTUS, outlined the administration’s latest policy positions, including expanding the use of body cameras for ICE agents, limiting immigration enforcement at locations like hospitals and schools and implementing requirements for officers to wear visible identification.

But it didn’t seem to move the needle for Democrats, who have repeatedly said they want to see all of their demands for reforms fulfilled. Discussions to reopen the agency have been moving extremely slowly. This week’s exchange, which started with another draft of demands from Democrats on Tuesday morning, was the first sign of active conversations in 18 days.

Some Democrats said negotiations have fallen to the wayside because other issues have taken precedent. Sen. Andy Kim told NOTUS that the White House’s focus on other priorities, including the war in Iran and a voter ID bill known as the SAVE Act, have complicated the conversations on DHS.

“There’s been so much chaos on the executive branch side,” Kim said. “In the interim, they started a war. They also fired their Homeland Security secretary, so it’s just been difficult for us to process when there’s clearly so much uncertainty on their end.”

Kim said that although Mullin, a sitting senator, has better standing with most Democrats than Noem did, confusion about his appointment contributed to the lagging pace of negotiations.

“How do we know what it is that they’re trying to push for when they’ve literally just got rid of their Cabinet secretary? That’s been part of the challenge,” Kim said.

Meanwhile, the White House says that Democrats are still “far away” from spelling out what the changes they would be willing to make, and the administration has stood its ground on conceding any major reforms. The senior official told NOTUS that Democrats have squandered their leverage after the flare-ups in Minnesota by waiting too long to make a deal while the real-world effects of the shutdown mount.

The White House has been tracking local news coverage of the partial shutdown, calling the long lines at TSA a “focal point” for Americans, noting that the pain at airports is always the first or second story in many metro outlets. The unanswered question, though, is who Americans will blame for the chaos.

Sen. Katie Britt, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on DHS, told reporters on Tuesday after the White House sent its offer that it’s become clear both sides need to “get in the room” to figure out a compromise.

Britt added that it’s “past time” for Democrats and the White House to meet as TSA lines grow longer and agents go without paychecks.

“Do you realize how many days into this, and we have yet to sit down and talk about this?” Britt said. “That is actual insanity … And the longer it takes us to do that, the longer it takes us to find a solution.”

While negotiations seemed to be at a standstill, Democrats tried repeatedly to push for narrower bills to fund the agencies that fall under DHS other than ICE and CPB through a process that would require the approval of all 100 senators.

Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has also introduced a discharge petition to the House that would fund the majority of the agency’s departments, without CBP and ICE, a tactic some moderate Republicans support. Jeffries would need four Republicans to join with all Democrats in order to force a vote on the House floor.

Those moves have drawn some pushback from Republicans, who have requested Democrats come to the negotiating table instead of utilizing maneuvers that are not likely to pass.

“There’s a whole bunch of stuff in there that are things, in my view, that have been significant gives on the part of the White House,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said on Tuesday, referring to the Trump administration’s various offers on DHS.

“But the Democrats seem intent on dragging out this political issue,” he continued. “And I guess the only thing I can say is I think they think it’s a political winner.”

Sen. Tim Kaine told NOTUS that he is discouraged that Democrats and Republicans can’t even agree to fund the agencies besides ICE and CBP. Though Kaine is not directly involved in the negotiations with the White House, he added that a show of good faith could help move negotiations along.

“Why not agree on the things we’ve agreed on, especially since we have two Republican chambers, and they negotiated these bills on the non-ICE agencies?” Kaine said. “Why not just do those? I can’t really figure out why they want to object to that, but we have to keep talking about both the things we agree on and the things we don’t.”