Senate Republicans believe they’ve found a path to ending the five-week Department of Homeland Security shutdown after meeting Monday with President Donald Trump. Sens. Bernie Moreno of Ohio, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, and Steve Daines of Montana met with Trump to pitch an agreement that would fund most of DHS. Their pitch was to pass a funding bill that would fund all of DHS except specific parts of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which is already funded under last year’s GOP mega bill. Graham told colleagues on the Senate floor after the meeting that the president is now open to a new party-line reconciliation bill after rejecting the idea over the weekend, Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) said. That could give Republicans a path to pass more ICE funding — if they can muster the votes.
Proceeding with the arrangement with Trump’s support would represent a U-turn from just 24 hours ago for the president, who insisted Sunday that DHS could only be funded if Democrats agreed to pass the SAVE America Act alongside it. Trump also over the weekend shot down a plan backed by Senate conservatives to pursue a reconciliation bill for immigration enforcement money. Senators of both parties are now racing to try to finalize an agreement. Multiple Democrats and another person with knowledge of the negotiations said they expected to trade legislative text that would reflect the path forward. That process could begin as soon as Monday night.
“Both sides are talking in a serious way,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters. The option negotiators are circling on, he said, would lie in the middle, some funding for enforcement agencies, but with guardrails.
