Senate, White House start to coalesce around ending DHS shutdown

Senators and the White House appear near to a deal to fund most of the Department of Homeland Security and end the partial government shutdown as the shutdown’s second month leads to worsening airport delays.

According to a White House official speaking on condition of anonymity on Tuesday, talks are still underway, but “this deal seems to be acceptable.” President Donald Trump has said he wants to not only fund DHS but include other changes such as prohibitions on transgender care and a voter-ID measure.

The agreement, as reported by multiple news outlets, would include funding for all of DHS except for a portion of its Immigration and Customs Enforcement budget. It would also plan for Republicans to pursue a party-line bill that could make up that ICE funding and include a version of the SAVE America Act, the Trump-backed elections bill that would implement national voter-ID mandates and require proof of citizenship to register.

The apparent breakthrough comes amid swelling Transportation Security Administration lines at airports, as agents are facing a second missed paycheck this week and are skipping work. The Trump administration this week deployed ICE agents to some U.S. airports in what it described as a bid to assist TSA agents.

Republican lawmakers met Monday night at the White House with Trump to discuss a deal. Majority Leader John Thune. R-S.D., told reporters Tuesday that “the meeting yesterday went well and we’re proceeding.”

DHS funding lapsed in February, the month after federal agents shot and killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis as part of an immigration enforcement surge.

Timing for an official proposal remains unclear. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said from the Senate floor on Tuesday that Democrats are awaiting a written proposal, calling the situation at airports “untenable.”

Schumer said momentum over the weekend was interrupted when Trump said he would not support any funding deal until the SAVE America Act, which Democrats have cast off as an attempt at voter suppression, is passed.

“Fortunately, it seems like things are getting back on track this morning,” Schumer said. “Donald Trump, perhaps realizing that Democrats will block voter suppression in the Senate, seems to have gotten over his temper tantrum.”

“Republicans can hopefully now come back to the table and get serious about reaching a solution to pay TSA workers ASAP,” Schumer said.

Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., said after leaving a meeting in Thune’s office on Tuesday that Republicans were “ready to go.” He called on Democrats, who are also seeking ICE immigration enforcement changes in exchange for their support, to “quit moving around.”

“So the Democrats need to join us,” Hoeven said. “We need to pay these TSA agents.”

But Democrats are not the only ones who will need to get on board. Conservative Republicans who have championed the SAVE America Act have voiced resistance to punting on the legislation and attempting to pass it under the “budget reconciliation” process, a procedural tool for budgetary legislation that requires only a simple majority to pass whereas most measures need 60 votes to clear the Senate.

“It’s hard to imagine how the SAVE America Act could be passed through reconciliation And by ‘hard’ I mean ‘essentially impossible,'” Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, who has led the charge for the voter ID-bill in the Senate, posted to X on Tuesday.

Hoeven said he had talked to Lee and that negotiators will continue to engage him.

“”All these things are a work in progress. Building consensus takes some time,” Hoeven said.

Trouble could also be brewing among the right flank of the House GOP conference. The House Freedom Caucus — which along with Lee and other proponents of the bill have called for the Senate to change its filibuster rules to ensure passage — on Tuesday questioned the strategy and cast doubt on whether the SAVE America Act could even be considered under the reconciliation process, citing the chamber’s “arcane rules.”

“This is gaslighting. The American people are not stupid and will not accept more failure theater from Republicans in Congress. PASS THE SAVE AMERICA ACT NOW,” the group posted Tuesday on X.

This is developing news. Please check back for updates.