House Democrats propose partial DHS funding amid standoff over ICE

Urging Republicans to end the partial government shutdown, House Democrats have introduced legislation to fund the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and the U.S. Coast Guard. Over the last few weeks, Democrats have been open to partially funding the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to ensure that departments other than Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) can function freely. They have, however, refused to budge on their demand for reforms in ICE and Customs and Border Patrol (CBP).   

In a recent post on X, Democratic Representative Pete Aguilar reiterated that his party was open to funding several areas of the DHS, including the TSA, FEMA, and the Coast Guard, but giving any money to ICE was out of the question. "Democrats have put forward a proposal that would fund key components of the Department of Homeland Security, including TSA, the Coast Guard, and FEMA, while we negotiate common sense reforms to ICE," Aguilar said. "In Congress, we are the people's representatives, and it's time for Republicans to start acting like it. The American people will be watching," he added. 

Notably, a recent statement by GOP Senator John Kennedy indicated that President Trump was presented with a plan to fund TSA and other DHS departments, which he refused. "Senator (Ted) Cruz and I came up with a plan," he said. "The Democrats have offered to open up everything but ICE. Ted 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. 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." "It would have worked. We could have had TSA paid by the end of the week, but the President said no deal," Kennedy added.

Reports also suggest that President Trump has explicitly asked his Republican colleagues not to make any deals with the Democrats. He reportedly intends to use the shutdown situation as leverage to get his SAVE America Act passed, which Democrats and some voter rights groups have opposed, claiming it would disenfranchise American voters. "I'm strongly suggesting to the Republican Party, don't make any deal on anything," President Trump said. "Don't make any deal on anything unless you include voter ID." Meanwhile, as the shutdown continues, thousands of TSA workers are not receiving their paychecks, with many having resigned altogether.