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Republicans eye opening for DHS deal this week as Democrats double down
Lawmakers return to Capitol Hill this week facing an uphill climb to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as Republicans see an opening after President Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday despite few signs that Democrats are willing to compromise on their demands.
Discussions between the two sides have yielded little in recent days, with the White House not issuing a formal counter-offer as of Sunday, after Democrats presented what GOP sources described as a “recycled” proposal last week.
However, some lawmakers are hopeful that negotiations can shake loose starting on Wednesday.
Some Republicans are eyeing the first round of missed paychecks for DHS workers on Friday as a pressure point that will compel Democrats toward a compromise.
“[The shutdown] gets real going into the weekend if people are being required to show up to work and not get paid. That’s when it becomes sympathetic and real,” one Senate Republican said.
Others accuse Democrats of holding out until after the State of the Union itself.
“Once the State of the Union is over, then I’m sure talks will come back in,” said Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) in an interview.
The gap to bridge for a deal to come together is sizable, however, especially given the unity on the Democratic side. Democrats are demanding a list of reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as a condition to reopen DHS.
Unlike the record 43-day government shutdown last year, Democratic leaders are not facing a mutiny by moderate-leaning members who grew increasingly queasy as the impasse dragged in the fall. Instead, Democrats appear to feel they have the political wind at their backs following the deaths of two U.S. citizens at the hands of federal immigration agents in Minneapolis.
One GOP source familiar with the negotiations noted that the group has not “expressed the same anxieties” that brought them to break with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) in November to fund the government.
“We haven’t hit the proverbial pain points yet,” the source added.
Some in that group have even gone a couple of steps further by reiterating in recent days that they are firmly behind leadership in this fight. Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), who was one of the eight Democrats to back reopening the government three months ago, signaled as much, laying blame at the feet of Republicans for the funding tumult.
“We need increased accountability for ICE to stop these abuses of power, but Washington Republicans would rather have the entire Department of Homeland Security shut down than put guardrails on ICE,” Rosen said in a statement. “It’s up to Republicans in Congress to decide whether they’ll work with us to rein in ICE’s out-of-control behavior or continue their DHS shutdown to block any reforms.”
Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), one of three members to cross over and vote with Republicans to fund the government more than a dozen times throughout the spending fight last fall, also is showing no signs of backing down. She told “The Daily” that what she has seen in her home state has pushed her to support her party’s efforts.
“If we do not stand up against this lawlessness that we see this administration engaging in, then what is left for us?” she told the podcast. “If you carry out to the logical conclusion that this administration has created their own police force, that they’re made up of individuals who don’t follow normal protocols that police follow to keep our communities safe, and they’re doing just the opposite, and they are sending them out under the guise of immigration enforcement, what’s next for them?”
“I don’t know the pathway,” she conceded. “I can only say at this moment and this time, the changes that we are demanding have to occur.”
Potential pain points also began cropping up over the weekend as DHS announced that Global Entry, an air travel program that allows expedited clearance to travelers, would be suspended due to the shutdown. DHS initially said that TSA PreCheck would also be part of that suspension, but reversed course hours later.
The move upset Democratic negotiators, who noted that neither program was affected during the fall shutdown.
“The Trump administration is choosing to inflict pain on the public instead of adopting common sense ICE reforms,” Schumer said in a statement on Sunday. “In the 43-day historic Trump government shutdown DHS never changed the Global Entry program’s status.”
“Democrats are fighting against this exact kind of abuse,” he added.
Talks between Schumer’s team and the White House have been ongoing for more than two weeks, with few details of the negotiations being made public. That has given lawmakers hope that the talks have been serious.
However, GOP frustrations started to bubble up early last week when the White House complained about the Democratic offer and what they said was the minority party’s unwillingness to compromise. Sources were quick to note that the offer did not deviate much from the initial Democratic ask, which included 10 demands — some of which have been red lines for Republican members.
Headlining those were calls for immigration agents in the field to be unmasked and to conduct themselves like other national and local law enforcement agencies, and to tighten warrant requirements.
“They’re saying right now, OK, we’re going to close DHS until you basically stop enforcing immigration law in this country. We’re not going to do that,” White House deputy chief of staff James Blair said in a TV appearance Tuesday. “This is just the Democrats’ grandstanding.”
Despite the impasse, ICE is largely unaffected as Republicans green-lit $75 billion in funding for border operations in the “big, beautiful bill.”
Instead, DHS agencies such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Transportation Security Administration, Secret Service and the Coast Guard are in line to not get paid at the end of the week. Roughly 90 percent of DHS workers are deemed essential amid the shutdown, meaning that operations on most fronts will continue even as those workers don’t get paid.
Republicans have argued that they’ve taken good-faith steps with Democrats, pointing to Tom Homan taking over ICE operations at the direction of the White House, equipping agents with body cameras and the ending of enhanced operations in Minneapolis.
Republicans are facing other headwinds as well, though. On top of Trump’s immigration efforts being underwater with Americans, much of the conservative base has been more focused on the push to pass the GOP voting bill known as the SAVE America Act.
“Any other time this would be a big pile on the Democrats’ situation, but the interest is all with the SAVE Act,” the source familiar said. “No one in our base is talking about the shutdown.”
Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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