A bipartisan group of senators met behind closed doors Thursday with White House border czar Tom Homan in a fresh effort to resolve a shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security that began more than a month ago, the Associated Press reported. The meeting offered a limited sign of progress as lawmakers try to reach a deal, though top officials on both sides said they remain far apart on key conditions.
The shutdown began after funding for the department lapsed on Feb. 14, as Democrats refused to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection without changes to their operations tied to the aftermath of the deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis, AP reported. Thursday’s closed-door talks included top appropriators from both parties, and lawmakers characterized the gathering as constructive even while acknowledging the differences that have stalled an agreement.
Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., said the next step would be another White House counteroffer, after which lawmakers would regroup. Senators in the meeting included officials overseeing appropriations, and several of them indicated that the two sides still disagree on major terms, but at least they were meeting and discussing the dispute directly.
The talks come as strain has been building at airports, where TSA officers are reported to be calling out sick because they are working without pay. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned that the situation is likely to worsen next week without a resolution, as airlines and travelers have begun to feel the impact of reduced staffing at screening checkpoints.
In a social media post on X, Duffy said: “The AIRPORT LINES you’re seeing now are CHILD’S PLAY compared to what you will see next week if TSA misses another PAYCHECK!” AP reported. The warning underscored the urgency lawmakers said they feel as the shutdown continues and as the effects spill into daily travel disruptions.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said he viewed the Thursday meeting as an important step, and characterized Homan’s participation as meaningful. Thune said, “We’ve been encouraging this for a while, and glad to see both sides sit down,” adding that “Having Homan up here being a part of that is, I think, a pretty big deal and a recognition that we need to get this resolved.”
Thune also warned that both chambers of Congress are scheduled to be out of Washington the first two weeks of April, and said those plans would be in jeopardy if the shutdown is not resolved by the end of next week. He said, “I can’t see us taking a break if the government is still shut down,” according to AP.
Key Democrats and Republicans said the remaining challenges are still substantial. Sen. Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, said the White House needed to be directly involved, but she also told reporters after the meeting that “we’re still a long ways apart.” Sen. Susan Collins, the Republican chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said Democrats’ demands were making negotiations difficult, while also saying the group in the meeting was operating in good faith.
Democrats have demanded a series of policy changes tied to how ICE operates, including requiring ICE agents to obtain a warrant from a judge before forcefully entering homes; requiring clear identifying information on uniforms and removing masks; mandating the use of body-worn cameras; allowing independent investigations into misconduct; and prohibiting operations at sensitive locations such as schools, churches and polling places, AP reported.
While most Homeland Security workers remain working during a shutdown because they are considered essential, AP reported that more than 120,000 workers are working without pay. The report also noted that this comes after a previous 43-day shutdown last fall, during which some federal workers turned to food banks to make ends meet.
AP reported that Democrats made another attempt Thursday to fund most Homeland Security agencies while not funding ICE and CBP. Republicans blocked that measure, insisting the department not be funded piecemeal, the report said. Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, argued lawmakers were not close enough to a deal on ICE to justify leaving other agencies unfunded, saying, “All we are asking is release the hostages,” as he pointed to funding for TSA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Coast Guard.
Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., said the better course was to reach a compromise on ICE rather than defunding it through negotiations over broader DHS funding. Lankford said, “We’re not going to just defund ICE and never turn it back on, so ICE agents quit because they’re not getting paid and it just drags on for a long time,” adding that “We need to actually resolve the differences.”