Senate Blocks DHS Bill As Shutdown Looming Intensifies

Update (1555ET): The Senate has failed to pass legislation that would pass the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) just one day before it's set to run out of money.

52 senators voted for a procedural step to advance a full-year spending bill, falling 8 votes short of the 60-vote filibuster threshold. 47 senators opposed it. 

Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) notably sided with Republicans in support of the measure, while Thune (R-SD) switched his vote to a 'no' as a procedural move to allow him to bring it up again. 

As the Epoch Times notes further, the appropriations bill passed the House in January before it returned to the Senate ahead of a funding deadline at the end of that month.

A standoff over immigration law enforcement funding there, touched off in the aftermath of the shooting of two protesters in Minneapolis, triggered a partial government shutdown involving five other spending bills. That lapse continued until Feb. 3.

While the five other spending bills ultimately passed both chambers, DHS was funded through a short-term continuing resolution that is set to end on Feb. 13, giving lawmakers a small window to reach a deal.

That deadline comes just ahead of Presidents Day and scheduled breaks in the House and Senate next week.

Soon after that deal was announced, some lawmakers were already forecasting another lapse in funding.

“I think DHS is going to stay shut down for a while,” Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) predicted to reporters on Feb. 4.

The Senate has taken the lead in negotiations that have involved the White House.

Ahead of the vote on Feb. 12, Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said on the Senate floor that the White House had sent Democrats “an extremely serious offer” on Feb. 11.

Democrats have generally been resistant to overtures from Republicans, hewing to a list of demands that include stepped-up warrant requirements for immigration law enforcement and a virtual end to the masking of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and other federal agents.

After border czar Tom Homan announced on Feb. 12 that the administration’s immigration enforcement surge in Minnesota was ending, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) suggested that was not enough.

“Regardless of what Tom Homan says, ICE’s abuses cannot be solved merely through executive fiat alone,” Schumer said on the floor of the Senate.

With the fast deadline approaching, Thune said that “the onus is on Democrats” to agree to an additional funding patch.

In a press conference that same day, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said that “funding for ICE and the Department of Homeland Security should not move forward in the absence of dramatic changes that are bold, meaningful, and transformational,” adding that the House and Senate Democrats are aligned on the issue.

Rep. Jay Obernolte (R-Calif.) voiced frustration about the state of DHS negotiations.

“There are a lot of agencies in DHS that Americans depend on,” Obernolte told reporters after a Feb. 12 vote in the House.

He cited the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Transportation Security Administration, as well as the Secret Service.

Obernolte noted that ICE has ample funding for years thanks to last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

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On Wednesday, the House of Representatives passed the SAVE America Act by a margin of 218-213. The bill would require proof of citizenship to register to vote as well as photo ID to vote in federal elections. One Democrat, Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas, joined Republicans in voting for it, while one R and one D did not vote. 

Sadly for anyone who values election integrity, Senate Republicans need 60 votes to pass it, and there "aren't anywhere close to the votes" according to Majority Leader John Thune (SD). Thune says he supports the SAVE Act, but he's not about to change the Senate rules to create a pathway to passing it - and that his position is widely supported among the Senate Republican Conference. 

"It’s not just me not being willing to do it. There aren’t anywhere close to the votes, not even close, to nuking the filibuster," he said of a proposal to lower the threshold for advancing legislation to a simple majority by voting along partisan lines to establish new precedent - effectively changing the Senate's rules with what is known as "the nuclear option," The Hill reports.

"We’re having a very robust conversation among our Senate Republican colleagues about the path forward. I think most are supporters … I certainly am — of the SAVE Act and what it attempts to accomplish," Thune told reporters following the meeting. "You ought to be able to prove that you’re a citizen of this country in order to be able to vote. How we get to that vote remains to be seen," he said. 

According to Thune, however, the nuclear option "doesn’t have a future. Is there another way of getting there? We’ll see."

Meanwhile, Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) is pushing for a 'standing filibuster' to try and pass it, and implored the Senate GOP conference on Tuesday to interpret the current Senate rules to require Democrats to continuously hold the floor with active debate to block the SAVE Act.

"Nothing in the Senate's an easy move," Lee said after the meeting. "This one's certainly not. But if we want to do this, this is how we have to go about it."

Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-WY) told Fox News that Republicans would continue to press the issue.

"To get on an airplane you need a photo ID. You want to buy a beer at a football game? You need a photo ID. Go to the library, you need a photo ID for just about everything," he said. "And now you see Democrats are demanding photo IDs to go to any meetings that they have, and we just saw that in Georgia."

DHS Shutdown On Deck...

Meanwhile, the vast majority of the Department of Homeland Security are set to shut down Saturday unless lawmakers can strike a last-minute deal to fund the agency. Democrats have vowed to oppose any legislation that doesn't include restrictions on immigration enforcement - and have provided a laundry list of demands after federal immigration agents killed two protesters last month in Minneapolis. The White House is reportedly open to some of the ideas, however, no agreement has been reached by lawmakers. 

On Wednesday night, the White House sent a detailed proposal to Democrats, WaPo reports, however it's unclear what their response was. 

"If they don’t add things that will rein in ICE, they are not getting our votes," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) told reporters Wednesday prior to receiving the White House proposal. 

Any last-minute deal would also require the House to pass it, which might be difficult in itself after House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said that Democrats won't support any DHS funding bill that doesn't include "dramatic changes" to the agency. 

That said, a shutdown won't disrupt ICE or US Customs and Border Protection operations because Republicans allocated tens of billions of dollars in additional funding last year for padding. Instead, the Transportation Security Administration, FEMA, Coast Guard and other agencies within DHS will be directly affected, equating to roughly 13% of the federal civilian workforce, according to DHS / OPM data. 

"The pain will be felt by the men and women of TSA, who will once again work to keep our airways safe without a paycheck," Rep. Mark Amodei (R-NV) told WaPo on Wednesday. "There will be uncertainty for our Coast Guard men and women — who have no choice but to show up for work. … It will reduce the amount of funding in the Disaster Relief Fund — just weeks after massive winter storms affected wide swaths of the country."

The Senate is expected to vote today to take up legislation to fund DHS through Sept. 30.