DHS funding talks stall as Republicans and Democrats remain divided before shutdown deadline

WASHINGTON, DC: As the deadline to fund the Department of Homeland Security nears, negotiations on Capitol Hill have yet to make progress, with finger-pointing intensifying.

The senators returning to Washington on Monday, February 9, will face a compressed timeline to avert a shutdown that would disrupt agencies including Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Transportation Security Administration and the Coast Guard.

Despite the looming February 13 deadline, talks had not formally begun by the end of last week, according to aides from both parties.

Immigration demands widen the gap between Republicans and Democrats 

Democrats, under pressure from their base to curb President Donald Trump's deportation crackdown, are pushing to include sweeping immigration-related provisions in the DHS funding bill. Republicans, however, have shown little willingness to entertain those demands.

Asked about the prospects for a deal, Sen John Kennedy was blunt. “About a minus squillion,” he said, placing the blame squarely on Democrats.

“This is not about reforming DHS,” Kennedy said. “This is about the Karen wing of the Democratic Party that wants to defund ICE, just like they wanted to defund the police.”

Democrats defend wish list after Minneapolis killings

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries outlined a 10-item list of demands in a letter to Republican leaders on Wednesday, many of them echoing earlier proposals following the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis.

At the top of the list were requirements that immigration agents obtain judicial warrants and remove face coverings during enforcement operations, proposals Republicans said were nonstarters.

Democrats argued that the requests were a reasonable and publicly supported response to recent enforcement actions.

Talks hampered by confusion over negotiating partners

Republicans accused Democrats of negotiating through the media rather than at the table. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said that GOP leaders had repeatedly reached out to Schumer, only to hear “crickets.”

“It’s totally unrealistic,” Thune said, noting that Democratic demands expanded from three items to 10. “It just shows you they’re not serious.”

Democrats countered that talks had stalled because it’s unclear whether they should be negotiating with Senate Republicans or directly with the White House.

“There’s a lot of mixed signals coming from the Senate Republicans,” said Sen Chris Murphy (D-Conn), a senior appropriator. “We sent them a proposal. We haven’t seen anything back.”

Sen Katie Britt (R-AL) speaks at a press conference on border security at the Capitol on December 07, 2023, in Washington, DC (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

GOP points to prior compromise

Sen Katie Britt (R-Ala), who is leading negotiations for Senate Republicans, said that any agreement would need buy-in from both the GOP conference and the White House. She acknowledged that no talks were scheduled over the weekend and expressed frustration with the lack of engagement.

“If you actually want an outcome here, you’d want a dialogue with Republicans,” Britt said, criticizing Democrats for relying on press conferences and social media rather than direct talks.

Republicans also pointed to a previously negotiated full-year DHS funding deal reached before Pretti’s death that included increased funding for body cameras, de-escalation training and the department’s inspector general.

“This is an appropriations bill, not an authorizing bill,” a senior GOP aide said. “Most of their demands have no funding nexus. We’ve already met them halfway.”

With days left before the deadline, both sides appeared entrenched, leaving the fate of DHS funding uncertain.