With the Department of Homeland Security poised to shut down by tomorrow at midnight, Republicans are warning President Donald Trump: Don’t feel public pressure to relent on an issue central to his campaign.
Even as the White House has engaged with Democrats over reforms to DHS, a growing chorus of members have urged Trump and his team to play hardball and instead fight for GOP priorities, like cracking down on so-called sanctuary cities in exchange for any Democratic demands on federal immigration enforcement.
What Republicans are saying: Senate Majority Leader John Thune made clear on the Senate floor yesterday that in order to avoid a shutdown and continue negotiations on federal immigration enforcement, lawmakers will need another continuing resolution.
“The renegotiation that Democrats demanded with the Trump administration last month is unsurprisingly, taking some time,” Thune said, adding that Democrats took a week to provide Republicans their demands.
Last night, Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters that the White House planned to send over new details to Democrats in their ongoing DHS negotiations, but it remains unclear if a deal can happen before the department’s funding expires.
Johnson added that he has advised members to be ready in Washington in case the House needs to vote tomorrow — a day on which votes were not originally scheduled.
What Democrats are saying: Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is signaling his members are unlikely to back even a short-term spending bill to fund the agency while talks continue because such little progress has been made.
“We’re three days away from a DHS shutdown and Republicans have not gotten serious about negotiating a solution that reins in ICE and stops the violence. Democrats will not support a CR to extend the status quo,” Schumer posted yesterday morning.
