Rick Scott calls GOP plan to partially fund DHS a ‘pipe dream,’ criticizing lawmakers' efforts

WASHINGTON, DC: Sen Rick Scott, one of President Donald Trump’s closest allies on Capitol Hill, has sharply criticised a proposal from fellow Republicans to partially reopen the Department of Homeland Security, dismissing it as a “pipe dream.”

The Florida Republican aimed at a plan floated by some GOP senators to fund emergency removal operations through a budget reconciliation package while striking a broader deal with Democrats to reopen the rest of the department.

The proposal, presented to Trump by Sen Katie Britt of Alabama and other Republican senators, would separate funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement in an effort to win Democratic support for restoring operations across the rest of DHS.

Scott said the idea was fundamentally flawed

“Democrats took this opportunity to shut down the 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 the 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 said in an interview with CNBC’s Joe Kernen.

Scott argued that supporters of the plan were relying on unrealistic assumptions about Congress’s ability to approve funding through reconciliation later, the budget process that allows some legislation to pass the Senate with a simple majority.

“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,” he said.

His comments amount to a direct rebuke of colleagues trying to craft a compromise that could end the DHS shutdown without immediately forcing Democrats to back the full Republican immigration agenda.

Conservatives question SAVE America's path

Another major element of the proposal discussed with Trump during a two-hour White House meeting on Monday was a commitment to pass parts of the SAVE America Act through a reconciliation bill.

But Scott and other conservative backers of the legislation are deeply sceptical that such provisions would survive Senate procedural scrutiny.

They fear the requirement for documented proof of citizenship when registering to vote could be stripped out by the Senate parliamentarian during the review process known as the “Byrd Bath.”

Scott said the proposed agreement to reopen DHS would do “nothing to secure elections.”

Trump has also hardened his position. On Sunday, he said he would not accept any deal with Democrats to reopen the Department of Homeland Security unless the Senate first passed the SAVE America Act, which he has argued is vital to Republicans’ future electoral success.