Senate searches for end to DHS shutdown after deal stalls

Thune, appearing on Fox News on Thursday morning, accused Democrats of moving the goalposts and "talking in circles" on DHS funding. 

"Every single day they move the goalpost," Thune said. "They said we don't want to fund ICE. And now they're saying we don't want to fund ICE and we want reforms."

The majority leader said "we're trying to narrow it in and home in on a deal" that can be struck in the "very near future." But he argued that for Democrats, it's "all about politics."

"I think they're just playing politics with this, have been from the beginning," Thune said. "They think it's really good with their base."

Thune said "this has got to stop," adding that "I think they're going to come to their senses — I hope they do." 

Asked whether the Senate will go on its scheduled recess, Thune reiterated that "it's very hard to take off if we don't have DHS funded."

"Obviously we're looking at optionality in terms of what it would take if we have to be here," Thune said. "But one way or the other, we have to get this done."

At the beginning of a Cabinet meeting at the White House, President Trump blasted Democrats for the ongoing impasse, saying they are "really punishing the American people."

"They need to end the shutdown immediately, or we'll have to take some very drastic measures," the president said, without elaborating. 

The Senate is scheduled to convene at noon and will take two votes at 1:30 p.m, according to a notice from Majority Whip John Barrasso's office.

The first vote will be on advancing an amendment to the SAVE America Act, which would require photo ID to cast a vote. The second vote will be on advancing the DHS funding measure. Additional votes are possible later in the day.

GOP Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin wrote an op-ed Thursday advocating for changing the Senate rules to end the 60-vote threshold required to advance most legislation in the chamber, a position he has been reiterating in recent days.

"I'm not sure how things could get much worse by ending the filibuster," Johnson wrote in the Daily Wire. "The status quo certainly isn't working. I think it's obvious things must change — we need a paradigm shift."

Johnson described dysfunction in the Senate, pointing particularly to the funding process and the five shutdowns that have occurred since he came to Congress in 2011. He compared the Senate to "plaque clogging an artery leading to a heart attack." 

He acknowledged those in his party who wish to preserve the filibuster and argue that it fosters bipartisanship. But the Wisconsin Republican said that, if the filibuster ends, "we all might be surprised to find senators attempting to find common ground on more issues to help ensure bills pass with bipartisan support."

Johnson opposed ending the filibuster until last fall's 43-day shutdown, the longest in U.S. history. In 2022, Johnson said Democrats who wanted to abolish the practice were attempting a "naked power grab."

President Trump floated ending the Senate's 60-vote threshold to reopen DHS, asking, "When is 'enough, enough' for our Republican Senators."

"There comes a time when you must do what should have been done a long time ago, and something which the Lunatic Democrats will do on day one, if they ever get the chance," Mr. Trump said in a post on Truth Social. "TERMINATE THE FILIBUSTER, and get our airports, and everything else, moving again."

The president urged the Senate to also add the SAVE America Act, an election bill he has repeatedly pushed Congress to pass. Earlier this week, he threw a wrench into DHS talks when he told Republicans not to make a deal with Democrats and to instead link the elections bill to DHS funding. 

Thune has repeatedly said there isn't support for ending the filibuster within the GOP conference.

The president claimed in another post that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer "will make a deal now because he thinks that if he doesn't, Republicans will TERMINATE THE FILIBUSTER, something which they should do whether he makes a deal or not!!!"

The Senate is scheduled to be on recess for two weeks starting next week. But Thune has kept the door open to keeping the chamber in town if the impasse persists.

The majority leader told reporters as the Senate convened Wednesday that no decisions had been made yet on whether senators would stay in town if they're unable to reach a deal. 

"I think it's awfully hard not to have the government funded if we're not here," Thune said. 

Later Wednesday, Thune suggested that the deadline could put pressure on senators, who often leave town on Thursday nights, to reach a deal. 

"You know how it is around here. It's not Thursday yet," Thune said. "And sometimes you've got to let things run. We'll see where the deal might land."

The Senate is set to vote Thursday afternoon on advancing a DHS funding measure. The motion fell short of the 60-vote threshold needed to succeed on Wednesday for the sixth time. 

It was the first time the chamber took the vote with the promise of the GOP offer, which would amend the measure funding all of DHS by stripping out the funds for ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations division. Just one Democrat, Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, voted in favor of moving forward. But Republicans are hoping to peel off more support on Thursday. 

Republicans quickly rejected Democrats' counterproposal to fund the government and secure ICE reforms like boosting training standards and requiring immigration officers to wear identification on Wednesday. They criticized the offer as unserious, arguing that if Democrats refuse to fund ICE, they don't have grounds to seek reforms to the agency. 

Democrats see things differently. 

Independent Sen. Angus King of Maine, who struck a deal with Republicans to end the last shutdown, outlined that ICE's Homeland Security Investigations division and Customs and Border Protection would be funded under the GOP offer. He claimed that "right now, most of HSI is in ICE doing ERO work."

"It's an illusory solution, if they can man ICE with people from … CBP and HSI," King said. "I don't have any problem with HSI and CBP doing their jobs. But not if they're doing ICE's job."

Despite the GOP pushback on Democrats' effort to secure reforms, Thune suggested later in the day that there is some room for negotiation, saying if Democrats "get a more realistic set of proposals, or a more realistic offer on the table, then we'll be back in business."

The majority leader also didn't rule out the possibility of a short-term measure to fund the government while conversations continue on a long-term solution.