DHS funding negotiations stall as Republicans reject Democratic reforms

WASHINGTON (CN) — Democrats and Republicans on Thursday appeared diametrically opposed on a path forward for funding the Department of Homeland Security, with less than two weeks to go before a stopgap budget keeping the agency afloat is set to expire.

And while Republicans voiced broad opposition to a list of immigration enforcement reforms Democrats are demanding in exchange for their votes on DHS funding, some of their colleagues across the aisle signaled that they would be open to shutting the agency down entirely until the GOP and the White House agree to the proposed changes.

The Senate last week agreed to move forward with a short-term funding resolution for DHS after Democratic support for the agency’s budget cratered thanks to aggressive and deadly immigration enforcement operations in Minnesota. The measure bought lawmakers two weeks to negotiate Homeland Security spending, time Democrats said they would use to enforce reforms.

Party leaders on Wednesday night rolled out their 10-point plan for the forthcoming DHS funding bill. Among their demands, Democrats asked for language barring federal agents from wearing face masks and requiring them to use body-worn cameras when interacting with the public. Democrats also demanded legislation barring immigration agents from carrying out enforcement operations at “sensitive locations” such as schools or hospitals, as well as measures setting agencywide standards for use of force and equipment.

But while Democratic lawmakers have framed the proposed reforms as common-sense provisions that bring federal law enforcement in line with standards much like those imposed on local and state police organizations, Republicans criticized the plan as largely a nonstarter.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune slammed Democrats’ demands as “totally unrealistic” and accused party leaders of inflating their list of proposed reforms to 10 from just a handful.

“It just shows you they’re not serious,” said the upper chamber’s top Republican.

Alabama Senator Katie Britt, who, alongside Maine Senator Susan Collins, is leading the GOP side of negotiations, called the plan “a ridiculous Christmas list of demands.” She told reporters that Democrats had not made any overtures to begin discussions on a possible deal.

Democrats, however, contested that framing. “I don’t think that’s accurate,” said Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy, who added that he wasn’t sure how “serious” Republican leaders, including Thune, were about negotiations.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer similarly passed the buck to Republicans, who he said didn’t have their “act together.”

“It’s on them,” said the top Senate Democrat during a meeting with reporters, pointing out that congressional appropriators were “talking” about a possible compromise. “Nothing will get done until we know what Republicans are for.”

Schumer also bristled at questions about whether he had met one-on-one with Thune. “We have spent three days diligently, seriously, coming up with a comprehensive, common-sense plan that police departments throughout the country use,” he said. “Where are they?”

Senate Republicans, meanwhile, expressed varying levels of optimism about whether negotiators could get a DHS funding plan across the finish line before the stopgap budget expires.

“It’s not a serious proposal,” Louisiana Senator John Kennedy told reporters of the Democratic plan, adding that he hadn’t seen any demands so far from his colleagues that he would support. “This isn’t about reforming DHS.”

North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis, who has previously signaled that he’d support certain reforms to immigration enforcement, said some of Democrats’ demands were “okay” but deferred to Collins and Britt.

“We’ll see how it works out,” said Tillis. “Maybe they can come up with something over the weekend, but it’s not looking good for coming up with an agreement by the end of the two-week period.”

The North Carolina senator added that he thought Democrats would need to “own” the fallout of a potential DHS shutdown, which would see other programs under the homeland security umbrella — such as the Coast Guard, Transportation Security Administration and federal disaster response — lose their funding.

Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley told Courthouse News that Democrats had offered some “reasonable things” in their proposal. “But they shouldn’t expect any Republican to go along with anything that would keep law enforcement doing its job enforcing the law, because we’re a nation based on the rule of law,” he said.

And Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski, a key GOP swing vote in the upper chamber, refused to directly speculate on Homeland Security funding talks.

“I remain optimistic because the alternative is not very good,” she told reporters.

It remains unclear whether Democrats, if they can’t enforce their demands on Republicans, will allow DHS funding to lapse when the stopgap budget expires — or if they will back another continuing resolution to buy more time to negotiate.

Schumer refused to commit to either outcome but left the door open to a shutdown. “Bottom line is, we need a proposal that reins in ICE. … And if Republicans can’t go along with that, they shouldn’t count on our votes,” he said.

The top Senate Democrat also left his options open for legislation that peeled funding for ICE away from other homeland security programs, such as TSA, telling reporters that there was “talk in our caucus of how to continue TSA.”

Other Democrats, though, were more explicit about the threat of a shutdown.

“For me, these demands are red lines, nonnegotiable,” said Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal, who told Courthouse News that he would not vote for another budget stopgap for DHS unless it included the reforms laid out by Democrats.

“In other words, shutting down the Department of Homeland Security should be the result here if there’s no agreement by [next] Friday on these basic demands,” Blumenthal warned.

Follow @BenjaminSWeiss