Senate Republican bashes GOP proposal to partially fund DHS as a ‘pipe dream’

Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), one of President Trump’s strongest allies on Capitol Hill, is bashing a proposal that some GOP colleagues are floating to reopen the Department of Homeland Security by funding emergency removal operations through a budget reconciliation package as a “pipe dream.”

Scott says the proposal presented to Trump by Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) and other GOP senators to break up funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to get Democrats to agree to a deal to fund the rest of the Department of Homeland Security “doesn’t make any sense.”

“Democrats took this opportunity to shut down government because they don’t want to provide amnesty to illegals. I don’t agree with that. Why would you just fund a part of government, especially when they don’t want to fund the part that protects Americans from illegal aliens that are committing crimes. We’ve lost people like Laken Riley,” Scott told CNBC’s Joe Kernen in an interview.

“This idea that they’ll get funded through a reconciliation package is a pipe dream. We’re not going to get a reconciliation package done,” Scott said.

Another key element of the deal presented to Trump at a two-hour meeting at the White House Monday is a pledge to pass elements of the SAVE America Act, a voting reform bill, under budget reconciliation bill as well.

But Scott and other conservative proponents of SAVE America are highly skeptical that the bill to require people to show documented proof of citizenship when registering to vote can survive a procedural review by the Senate parliamentarian, a process called the “Byrd Bath.”

Scott says the proposed deal to reopen the Department of Homeland Security does “nothing to secure elections.”

President Trump on Sunday said he would not accept any deal with Democrats to reopen the Department of Homeland Security until the Senate passes the SAVE America Act, which he says is critical to Republicans’ future election prospects.

But senators who met with Trump at the White House Monday believe he would be willing to pivot to a deal that funds the Department of Homeland Security, except for ICE’s Emergency Removal Program, as long as Congress passes a reconciliation bill later this year to fund migrant removal operations and includes elements of the SAVE America Act.

Scott noted that Congress cannot pass appropriations legislation through the budget reconciliation package, which can pass by a simple-majority vote in the Senate.

“A reconciliation package only funds mandatory spending, not regular spending. There’s no guarantee that these ICE agents are going to get paid forever. And if there’s supposed to be another reconciliation package, what they’re talking about — why would we get another reconciliation package done? Look at the last one, the only reason it got done is because of the tax cuts. There are no tax cuts in this, there’s no pressure to pass this,” Scott argued.

“To get 50 Republicans to vote for this I think is going to be a pipe dream,” he added.

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