Top Senate Republicans coalesce behind plan to end DHS shutdown

[groundloop]

Source: CNN

Top Senate Republicans on Capitol Hill believe their party is unified behind a plan to reopen the Department of Homeland Security. Now, they need to sell the plan to Democrats.

Republican lawmakers emerged from a White House meeting on Monday night with a plan to fund DHS — all except a small portion of the immigration enforcement budget, in a concession to Democrats. Then, once that’s passed, Republicans plan to muscle through a partisan bill without Democratic votes to fund the rest of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency — as well as new policies in President Donald Trump’s long-sought voter ID bill.

That plan, which was described to CNN by a person familiar with the talks, has not yet been accepted by Democrats. But key Democrats said they were pleased with the direction, even without knowing all of the details. And the top Senate GOP spending leader, Sen. Susan Collins, told reporters she was “optimistic we’re on a good track.” While Trump had previously rejected a similar idea, Republicans now feel the president is on board, that person and another source familiar said.

A White House official expressed optimism in a statement to CNN on Tuesday, saying, “Conversations are ongoing but this deal seems to be acceptable.”

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2026/03/23/politics/dhs-shutdown-tsa-republicans-proposal-democrats

[Fiendish Thingy]

1. They can't "muscle through" the SAVE act

The SAVE act can’t be passed via reconciliation, so it can be blocked by the filibuster.

[Strelnikov_]

2. "Republicans plan to muscle through a partisan bill without Democratic votes to fund the rest of the ICE agency . . .

as well as new policies in President Donald Trump’s long-sought voter ID bill.

. . .

But key Democrats said they were pleased with the direction, even without knowing all of the details.


wtf????

[EarlG]

3. I *think* it means

That Republicans are going to capitulate to Democrats and agree to pass a bipartisan bill which funds TSA etc, but does not give additional funds to ICE. That's the part that Democrats are satisfied with.

After that, Republicans will ram through the additional ICE funding using reconciliation:

Republicans are looking at using reconciliation to pass more ICE funding as well as parts of their partisan GOP elections bill, the SAVE America Act, according to the person and another person granted anonymity to discuss the matter.

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/03/23/dhs-shutdown-talks-breakthrough-00841195

That cannot be filibustered, and it will pass on a party-line vote -- Democrats will vote against it, but there's nothing they can do procedurally to stop it. So the additional ICE funding and any other BS in that bill will be all the GOP's own work, and nothing to do with Democrats.

[SSJVegeta]

5. Do they have a parliamentarian that would allow the save act to be included in reconciliation, though?

That sounds sketchy at best.

I think Dems literally tried this exact thing with their voting rights legislation in 2022 or so and it was blocked by the parliamentarian, no?

[EarlG]

10. The article says "parts" of the bill

IIRC reconciliation can only be used on budgetary items, so whichever parts of Stop Americans Voting Efficiently that are budget-related might be able to be passed. But not the whole bill itself.

[Strelnikov_]

6. I was thinking the same way on the DHS funding, but how can SAVE act provisions be thrown into a reconcilation bill?

Maybe they are going to put a couple of the least onerous provisions in to give Orange Julius a 'win' he can crow about. Like, non-citizens cannot vote, something that is already law, so is a mulligan as far as reconciliation is concerned.

[EarlG]

11. I don't think most of SAVE can be included

Just parts that are budget related. The meat of the bill would not be able to be passed via reconciliation.

[littlemissmartypants]

9. "...nothing to do with Democrats." If the Dems vote as a block. But will they?

[EarlG]

12. Maybe Fetterman will, but he's stated he's opposed to the SAVE act so

maybe not. Either way, Republicans *should* have the votes to pass it without Democratic help, since they have the majority.

[angrychair]

15. I see it as Democrats conceding

They will vote to pass TSA funding knowing that Republicans will just fund ice anyway and with no concessions on how they treat people.
In my opinion that is unacceptable.

They should filibuster any deal that doesn't include ice funding and the concessions Democrats demanded (even though to be honest, the concessions they are asking for are the bare minimum)

[EarlG]

18. No concessions so far, at least...

https://democraticunderground.com/100221121052

[mcar]

16. It means they are pleased with the direction

Why is that a problem?

Plus, as noted, Rs will not be able to attach the SAVE Act to a reconciliation bill. My guess is they are saying that to appease Trump.

[Scrivener7]

4. "But key Democrats said they were pleased with the direction, even without knowing all of the details."

Jesus. I despair.

[bluestarone]

8. Yea, seems like we eat crow a lot, but

I sure as hell don't have the answer to the mess we are in. I DO NOT like what i'm hearing and seeing, I just wish Dems would hold the line sometimes.

[EarlG]

13. That's because Republicans are agreeing to the part that Democrats want --

ie. removing ICE funding from the bill to reopen DHS.

Republicans will then attempt to ram the ICE funding through via reconciliation, which is passed on a simple majority so there is nothing Democrats can do to stop it.

[Scrivener7]

19. Right. Hopefully our side will notice this.

Hopefully they'll finally understand who they're dealing with and see that the deal is a Trojan horse.

[pcdb]

20. Isn't ICE already funded through 2029?

[EarlG]

21. My understanding is that ICE is well-funded already

The Democrats are holding all of DHS shut down, but ICE was fully funded by the Big Bullshit Bill, which is why they're getting paid right now but TSA is not.

I've had a hard time finding out what Republicans are trying to do with reconciliation:

“The Democrats have offered to open up everything but ICE,” Kennedy told Fox News’ Will Cain Monday night. “Ted [Cruz] and I said, ‘okay, let’s accept their offer.’”

“At the same time, we would offer a bill for reconciliation where we don’t need any Democratic votes to do whatever we wanted to do with ICE,” he continued. “That way, we’re out of the shutdown, and DHS is back open. Senator Thune submitted that to President Trump, as is his right, he said no. No deals with the Democrats.”

Kennedy added that since the deal was rejected by Trump, Senate Republicans will attempt to fund all of DHS through a party-line budget reconciliation bill. He said the process will likely take longer, but it will satisfy the president’s desire that no deal be cut with Democrats.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-dhs-government-shutdown-john-kennedy_n_69c212dfe4b04cdc2d781ab0

However, this article suggests that whatever it is about, the effort is dead in the water anyway:

Democrats are not the only ones who will need to get on board. Conservative Republicans who have championed the SAVE America Act voter-ID bill 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.

(snip)

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. Members 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.

That hard-line opposition signals a potential intraparty Republican showdown over the strategy, as leadership and moderates try to gauge whether reconciliation — under which the Senate parliamentarian gets to decide what can be considered — is even feasible.

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/24/dhs-homeland-shutdown-tsa-delays-senate-white-house-funding-deal.html

[littlemissmartypants]

7. Let the games begin.... I guess. FUCKICE. Just to be clear.

And I hate the word "homeland" that framing has got to go!

[poli-junkie]

14. What about what that Ohh That's Rich says:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100221120391

[progressoid]

17. I hope so but

it is incredible that the Senate Parliamentarian is the only thing keeping them from running roughshod

Nobody seems to give a shit about actual laws in Congress anymore.