A new proposal to fund parts of the Department of Homeland Security is being considered on Capitol Hill, but faces hurdles. The ongoing shutdown, now lasting 40 days, is causing significant issues at airports, with long wait times and high TSA absences, due to a lack of an agreement between Republicans and Democrats over immigration enforcement and other issues.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., speaks to reporters after a weekly policy luncheon at the Capitol.After weeks of halting talks, a new proposal is materializing on Capitol Hill that aims to fund critical parts of the Department of Homeland Security as travelers across the country deal with long lines and missed flights at airports experiencingFor more than a month, Republicans demanded an agreement to fund DHS in its entirety.
Funding for the department lapsed inamid anger over the agency's handling of immigration enforcement. GOP leadership previewed a plan Tuesday to fund the majority of the department, minus Immigration and Custom Enforcement's enforcement and removal operations division. But the GOP plan failed to clear an initial procedural vote on Wednesday, as most Democrats say they are unwilling to approve any additional funding for ICE without significant reforms to rein in the tactics of immigration officers after two U.S. citizens were killed in Minneapolis earlier this year. Trump is also not sold on any deal that does not include an unrelated overhaul of federal elections known as the SAVE America Act.That's as the DHS shutdown has now lasted 40 days, and federal employees who handle airport security, disaster response and cybersecurity go without pay."We are really concerned about our security posture and what the long term impacts of this shutdown is going to have on the workforce and our ability to carry out this mission," Ha Nguyen McNeil, the TSA acting administrator, said during a House hearing on Wednesday. McNeil told lawmakers that airports are dealing with the"highest wait times in history" as TSA absences top 40% at some airports. She said more than 480 officers have quit during the shutdown.Lawmakers have not released the full details of their plan, but top Senate Republicans say the proposed deal does include changes to ICE operations that Democrats negotiated earlier this year, like funding for officer-worn body cameras and reduced detention-center bed capacity. But Democrats say the latest framework does not include other demands, like requiring judicial warrants for immigration agents to enter homes and businesses and a ban on face coverings for agents. "We thought there had been some progress, but then Republicans sent us their offer yesterday, and it contained nothing that had been talked about," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Wednesday, adding that Democrats sent the White House another counteroffer. Republicans, meanwhile, say Democrats have moved the goalposts as they press for reforms in a package that would not include new funding for enforcement and removal operations. Senate Democrats, including several of those who voted with Republicans to end the record-long government shutdown last fall, say they do not want to give ICE any funding until the White House agrees to more sweeping changes to how officers operate. "Set aside ICE, fund everything else," Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., told reporters on Tuesday."Republicans should take yes for an answer on all the other agencies. Quit torturing people with long TSA lines and let's go ahead and do this."Some conservative Republicans are also hesitant about a path forward that does not include the voting overhaul Trump has demanded. The gambit involves a plan to fund ICE separately and pass parts of the SAVE America Act, an elections overhaul bill, without any Democratic support through a The recent push for a second reconciliation effort to tackle ICE funding and parts of the elections overhaul bill came out of a Monday evening meeting between Trump and a group of GOP senators, just a day after Trump rejected a similar offer. "Maybe you can just say my colleagues were more persuasive than I was," Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said, just a few minutes before Trump declined to publicly endorse the agreement.The bill would require proof of citizenship to register to vote, like a valid U.S. passport or birth certificate plus photo ID. It would also require voters to present photo ID to cast a ballot. Trump, who has continued to amplify false claims about election fraud, has called the SAVE America Act the"most important and consequential legislation" in the history of Congress. He's previously vowed not to sign other bills passed by Congress until this bill is signed.don't have a passport. A similar bill has passed the House. But legislation in the Senate failed to attract 60 votes to overcome a filibuster, where a handful of Republicans are also opposed. Combining parts of the election bill together with the remainder of ICE funding in a single reconciliation package will be an onerous and complicated process. Reconciliation provisions need to have a budgetary impact to be accepted under Senate rules. The Senate parliamentarian's rulings are usually the final word on reconciliation. "The parliamentarian has a role to play in that process, and in the past, we have respected it," Thune told reporters Tuesday."And I would expect we would do that."Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, Tuesday. Lee is a major supporter of the elections bill."And by 'hard' I mean 'essentially impossible.'" But Wednesday morning, Senate Budget Chair Lindsey Graham said the Budget Committee is moving forward with creating a budget reconciliation bill. "The purpose of the second reconciliation bill is to make sure there is adequate funding to secure our homeland and to support our men and women in the military who are fighting so bravely," the South Carolina Republican."President Trump and Leader Thune are right to push for a second reconciliation bill to address the threats we face and keep our elections secure and fair."Barbara Sprunt is a producer on NPR's Washington desk, where she reports and produces breaking news and feature political content. She formerly produced the NPR Politics Podcast and got her start in radio at as an intern on NPR's Weekend All Things Considered and Tell Me More with Michel Martin. She is an alumnus of the Paul Miller Reporting Fellowship at the National Press Foundation. She is a graduate of American University in Washington, D.C., and a Pennsylvania native.Sam Gringlas is a journalist at NPR's All Things Considered. In 2020, he helped cover the presidential election with NPR's Washington Desk and has also reported for NPR's business desk covering the workforce. He's produced and reported with NPR from across the country, as well as China and Mexico, covering topics like politics, trade, the environment, immigration and breaking news. He started as an intern at All Things Considered after graduating with a public policy degree from the University of Michigan, where he was the managing news editor at The Michigan Daily. He's a native Michigander.Unpaid TSA workers staff San Diego airport as paid ICE agents arrive at othersKPBS keeps you informed with local stories you need to know about — with no paywall. Our news is free for everyone because people like you help fund it.
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