Senate agrees to fund TSA and most of DHS, but not ICE

Senators agreed by unanimous consent early Friday morning to a proposal that funds the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and other critical agencies in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

The late-night Senate deal left out funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Border Patrol after negotiators failed to agree on reforms demanded by Democrats after federal immigration officers fatally shot two protesters in Minneapolis in January.

The deal came together swiftly after months of often-stalled negotiations and just before lawmakers were set to depart for a two-week recess — and as hours-long lines at airport TSA checkpoints put enormous pressure on them to act.

Senate leaders sent around a hotline request to senators early Friday morning to see if there would be objections to funding TSA, the Coast Guard, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (CISA) by unanimous consent. The proposal also included funding for customs officers at border checkpoints.

When it returned without objection, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) moved quickly to unanimously approve the funding that had been stalled for more than 40 days.

The speedy agreement was surprising given that Democrats had on several occasions this month requested unanimous consent on the Senate floor to fund TSA, FEMA, the Coast Guard and CISA with Republicans objecting each time.

Thune told reporters Friday morning that Republicans rejected those earlier efforts to fund DHS in pieces because they were hoping for a deal to fund the entire department.

But Thune said they abandoned that effort and “pivoted” to a new strategy when it became clear that Democrats would not accept the reforms Republicans were willing to make to ICE in exchange for passing the entire Homeland Security appropriations bill.

“This was all about reforms and they were all on the table,” he said. “Basically, that door kind of closed and they started to take the funding [for ICE] off the table. … I just think their base was demanding that they not fund ICE.

“We had hoped we would get a funding bill and we were trying to accommodate their requests for reform,” he added. “We couldn’t get any closer on it so you kind of pivot to the next strategy. But it’s unfortunate it didn’t get done because it’s not good for America.”

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) declared victory on the Senate floor.

“Democrats held firm in our opposition that Donald Trump’s rogue and deadly militia should not get more funding without serious reforms, and we will continue to fight for those reforms,” he said.

“I’m very proud of our Democratic caucus. Throughout it all, Senate Democrats stood united—no wavering, no backing down,” he added.

The Plan B funding deal approved by the Senate Thursday still needs to be approved by the House, which is scheduled to convene on Friday.

The sudden action by the Senate raises questions whether Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) will be able to pass the package before the weekend, when both chambers are scheduled to begin a two-week Easter recess.

Trump would also need to sign the legislation for it to become law.

Thune expressed cautious optimism the president would do that.

“I never speak for him but he understood where we were, where the Democrats were,” he said of Trump’s support. “I hope so.”

The Senate vote came after Republicans acknowledged on Thursday afternoon that they would not be able to convince six more Democrats to join centrist Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) in voting for a deal to reopen the entirety of DHS.

Negotiations had broken down over a proposal endorsed by Trump to split off funding for ICE’s emergency removal operations from the annual Homeland Security appropriations bill, but fund the remainder of ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

Trump then announced in a fiery message Thursday evening that he would take emergency action to pay TSA workers.

He accused “Radical Left Democrats” of holding “our Country hostage.”

The president said the order was “not an easy thing to do” but declared he wanted to “quickly stop the Democrat Chaos at the Airports.”

Travelers across the country were facing hours-long wait times at TSA checkpoints, including at major airports like George Bush Intercontinental Airport and William P. Hobby Airport in Houston and Hartsfield-Jackson Airport in Atlanta.

That left a number of GOP lawmakers restless about the weeks-long failure to reopen TSA.

Sens. John Kennedy (R-La.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) last week began floating the proposal to GOP colleagues to strip ICE funding from the Homeland Security bill.

Kennedy told reporters Thursday that he was planning to ask for unanimous consent on the Senate floor to pass a bill to pay TSA workers during the shutdown.

Trump’s announcement that he would use his executive authority to pay TSA workers effectively ended the negotiations with Democrats over a bill to partially fund ICE.

It came just before TSA workers were scheduled to miss another paycheck on Friday.

Republican senators familiar with the president’s thinking said Trump was concerned by the possibility of a nationwide walkout by TSA workers if the funding impasse dragged on.

Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) worked with the White House budget office to identify an unused pot of money that could be tapped to pay TSA workers. It provided enough money to cover TSA for several months.

Friday morning’s vote capped a rollercoaster week of negotiations.

Republicans thought earlier in the week that they had a good chance of reaching a bipartisan deal to fund part of ICE’s budget and reopen the Homeland Security Department after presenting a proposal to do that to Trump during a meeting at the White House Monday.

The plan would have cut ICE’s funding in the bill by approximately $5.4 billion — or more than half of its $10 million annually appropriated budget.

Trump agreed to it because Republicans, including Senate Budget Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), promised to follow up with a budget reconciliation package to provide more funding for ICE and to enact elements of the SAVE America Act, a voting reform bill.

Republican negotiators appeared to make the most progress with Sen. Angus King (I-Maine), an independent who caucuses with Democrats, and Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.).

Both centrists met with White House border czar Tom Homan last week to negotiate a possible deal.

The final Republican offer submitted to Democrats on Friday included language designed to prevent Trump from shifting ICE funds to removal operations.

But Democrats were concerned that the administration might shift personnel from Homeland Security Investigations to immigration enforcement activities.

Thune told reporters that while some centrist Democrats expressed “intentions” to vote for a possible deal, the talks were largely channeled through the Democratic leadership. It soon became clear that Republicans were not going to get any significant number of Democrats to break ranks.

“There were people who were kind of doing some free-agent stuff out there but we never got the sense they ever had any sanction to move or to actually get anything done,” he said.

Thune told reporters Thursday morning that GOP negotiators had shared with Democrats their “last and final offer.”

He then called a vote shortly after 1:30 pm later in the day on a House-passed bill to fund all of DHS, including ICE and CBP.

Democrats responded by voting for the seventh time to block the bill. Every Democratic senator voted “no” except for Fetterman.

That set the stage for Trump to issue his executive order to pay TSA workers, which in turn unlocked an agreement several hours later to fund TSA and other agencies through the regular appropriations process.

Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), a strong Trump ally, urged his Senate colleagues to cancel the recess to continue working on a bill to fund the entire Homeland Security Department and continue debating the SAVE America Act, a voting reform bill.

“Cancel the recess. Fund DHS. Pass the SAVE America Act. Failure to do this will produce defeat In November,” Lee posted on X.

Senators, however, ignored that demand and agreed to go on recess with a plan to reconvene in regular session on April 13.

Montana Senate candidate says he will introduce bill to draft Graham if elected

Senate Democrats defeat amendment to require photo ID to vote

Judge asked to take Trump name off Kennedy Center

Here are Iran’s 5 conditions for ending war after rejecting US ceasefire plan

Senate agrees to fund TSA and most of DHS, but not ICE

House passes measure to fund DHS as senators struggle to reach deal

Trump disapproval highest in both terms: Fox News poll

Democrats block Homeland Security funding just before Easter recess

Cooper leads Whatley by 8 points in NC Senate race: Survey

Hegseth: Military chaplains will no longer display rank

Platner holds commanding lead over Mills in Maine Senate race: Poll

Trump slams ‘terrible’ Fox News polls

Trump to sign executive order to fund TSA agents amid DHS shutdown

More than 3 million pounds of Trader Joe’s food added to nationwide mass ...

Trump expected to announce action to solve TSA problems amid DHS shutdown

Trump says ‘military wanted’ White House ballroom: ‘That was supposed to ...

New Jersey governor signs restrictions on immigration enforcement participation

Antony Blinken pushes back against Trump comments suggesting he supported Iran ...

© The Hill

visit website