A proposal to reopen the Department of Homeland Security and fund the agency through the end of the fiscal year failed to advance through the Senate for a fifth time on Friday, all but guaranteeing the shutdown will enter its sixth week over the weekend.
The Senate voted 47-37 to advance the latest funding bill, falling short of the 60-vote threshold needed to overcome a filibuster. The vote was kept open for over two hours as Senate leaders grappled with attendance issues in both parties.
Republican leaders largely expected the effort to fail, mostly using the vote as a pressure point on their Democratic colleagues after negotiations with the White House appeared to heat up in recent days.
“We’re gonna find out if Dems are serious,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters on Friday. “There were a couple of areas yesterday that they had identified, in addition to some of the reforms the administration recommended, that, to me, could find a path forward.”
Trump administration border czar Tom Homan met with leaders in both parties on Capitol Hill earlier this week just days after Democrats sent the White House their latest counteroffer. Democratic leaders sent the offer around 11 p.m. on Monday, and White House officials are “currently reviewing” the details, an administration official told the Deseret News.
But top Republicans on Capitol Hill said the latest proposal “didn’t change much from where we were.”
Meanwhile, the White House sent a letter on Tuesday to Senate Republicans detailing the concessions they have already made — marking the first time either side has shared details of the negotiations. But Democrats still say it doesn’t go far enough, even though Sen. Markwayne Mullin, who may be the next DHS secretary, separately committed to more of their demands.
Not included in the White House letter is any agreement to require judicial warrants in order to carry out arrests, which Mullin said during his confirmation hearing would be something they’d enforce. But Democrats want that in writing — otherwise, the commitment isn’t serious, they say.
“They should put that into a bill in order to enact a law,” Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, said on Wednesday. “If they are in favor of these changes in policy, I just ask you why they wouldn’t want to enshrine that into statutory law.”
Homan will meet with senators again on Friday, according to Thune, which should determine whether progress will be made. The Senate is scheduled to go into recess for the first two weeks of April, but that could be canceled if DHS is still closed.
“It needs to get resolved by the end of next week,” Thune said on Thursday. “I can’t see us taking a break if the government’s still shut down.”
Federal funding for DHS lapsed on Feb. 14, and workers in multiple agencies have been working without pay as the talks drag on.
The bill that was considered on Friday passed the House earlier this year that was negotiated by both parties and on track to pass in late January. However, after a pair of deadly shootings in Minneapolis involving immigration officers, Democrats say they won’t back a funding bill until stricter reforms are implemented.
Some Democrats have suggested partially funding the department by removing the budget allocated for Immigration and Customs Enforcement until a deal is brokered, but still providing money for agencies such as TSA, Secret Service, and the Coast Guard. However, Republicans have shot down those suggestions, warning it would be dangerous to leave border and immigration operations unfunded.