Senate Deal Would Split DHS Funding From Spending Package Before Deadline

Senate negotiators reached a deal Thursday to avert most of a government shutdown by pulling the Department of Homeland Security bill out of a six-bill spending package and passing the other five, CNBC and CBS News reported. DHS would instead receive a stopgap measure; Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer’s office said it would fund the department for two weeks.

President Donald Trump endorsed the arrangement on Truth Social. “Hopefully, both Republicans and Democrats will give a very much needed Bipartisan ‘YES’ Vote,” he wrote, according to CNBC. Funding for the package lapses at 12:01 a.m. Saturday.

The deal followed a failed procedural vote. Democrats opposed the original six-bill version, and seven Republicans joined all Democrats in opposing an earlier procedural vote on the full package, CNBC reported. Democrats wanted DHS separated after two U.S. citizens were shot and killed by federal immigration agents in Minnesota earlier this month. Schumer’s demands, CBS reported, include an end to roving patrols, changes to warrant rules for targeting migrants, a requirement that federal agents unmask and wear body cameras, and a uniform code of conduct with the same use-of-force standards that apply to state and local police.

Republicans objected both to the substance and to the process. They had pushed for a DHS extension of up to six weeks, while Democrats wanted two, CBS reported. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a South Dakota Republican, said “we’ve got snags on both sides, but tomorrow’s another day.” Republican senators also said Democrats were negotiating directly with the White House, CNBC reported.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, called it “a bad deal.” He said he had “never been more offended” by criticism of federal immigration agents, according to CBS. Graham said he was open to some ICE reforms but views Democratic policies as the root of the problem.

Schumer said Graham was holding up the legislation and that Senate Republicans “need to get their act together.” Sen. Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, said the DHS bill “will be considered at a separate occasion” and that talks on changing ICE and DHS operations would begin.

Thune will likely need unanimous support in the Senate to speed passage before the deadline, CNBC reported. If the Senate acts, the House must still approve the package. The House is on recess and is not due back until next week. Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, told MS NOW he is “trying to figure all that out” and wants members back “as soon as possible,” though he cautioned it could take up to 72 hours, CNBC reported. In a later CBS account, Johnson called the deal “a big achievement” and said the House would pass the bills by Monday, adding that DHS funding would need further negotiation. CBS said Johnson noted that once the bills pass, 11 of the 12 annual appropriations bills would be funded.

A shutdown over the weekend is still possible. Last year’s government shutdown lasted a record 43 days, CNBC noted.