Senate Democrats derail DHS funding push, insist on 'progress on reforms'

WASHINGTON, DC: Senate Democrats on Thursday, February 12, rejected a revised White House counterproposal aimed at keeping the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funded beyond Friday and avoiding a partial government shutdown.

The administration submitted legislative text late Wednesday night after Democrats criticized an earlier proposal presented in letter form. But Democratic lawmakers said that the updated offer still did not address their primary concerns.

“They did not address our major concerns. We’re going through it right now and intend to offer a counteroffer,” said Sen Patty Murray (D-Wash), the ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

The current two-week stopgap funding measure expires on Friday, and Democrats announced that they planned to vote against another short-term continuing resolution (CR) to extend DHS funding.

Jeanne Shaheen says no funding extension without 'progress on reforms'

Sen Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), a key moderate who previously voted to end a record 43-day government shutdown, said that she would not support another temporary funding extension unless Republicans agreed to significant reforms at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

“I’m not going to vote for a CR until we see some progress on reforms. It’s not acceptable that we have a federal agency killing American citizens in the streets and we’re not taking any action,” Shaheen said.

When asked what steps the White House was willing to take to rein in ICE officers, she responded, “Nothing that I’ve heard.”

The Senate is also expected to vote on Thursday on a House-passed bill that would fund DHS through September, though Democrats are widely expected to block the motion to advance it.

Mark Kelly demands leadership change at DHS

Sen Mark Kelly (D-Ariz) said that Democrats discussed the next steps during a caucus meeting and argued that the administration’s proposal did not address the “core issues.”

He said that he opposed another stopgap funding measure and would only consider supporting DHS funding if there were sweeping changes, including new leadership at the department.

“For me to give any funding to that organization, I would have to see a plan for a serious overhaul to include a change of leadership. Ya know the rot starts at the top,” Kelly said.

Pressed on whether he was referring to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, Kelly replied: “I want to see somebody.”

With funding set to expire on Friday and Democrats refusing to back a temporary extension without reforms, DHS faces the prospect of a partial shutdown as partisan tensions over immigration enforcement escalate.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, in a post on X on Tuesday, said, "In response to our common sense proposals to rein in ICE, Republicans shared an outline of a counterproposal, which included neither details nor legislative text."

"The GOP response is both incomplete and insufficient in terms of addressing the concerns Americans have about ICE’s lawless conduct," he added.