DHS Shutdown Looms as Senate Fails to Cut Deal, Heads to Recess

A Saturday shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security is all but inevitable after the Senate failed to advance a funding bill and headed out on a week-long recess without a deal regarding new limits on immigration enforcement.

The Senate vote to begin debate on a year-long DHS bill without enforcement changes failed 52 to 47. A Republican attempt to get unanimous consent to pass a stopgap DHS bill also failed.

Many department employees will be expected to work without pay during a shutdown. But a prolonged fight risks roiling workers like Transportation Security Administration employees at airports.

Those carrying out immigration enforcement activities at Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection will likely be paid even during a longer shutdown by funds allocated under President Donald Trump’s tax bill.

The Trump administration’s announcement that it would end a surge of immigration agents in Minnesota, where two US citizens protesting ICE raids were killed by officers, failed to persuade Democrats to agree to the measure.

Hawaii Senator Brian Schatz said Border Czar Tom Homan’s announcement alone wasn’t enough.

Senator Brian Schatz

Photographer: Eric Lee/Bloomberg

“Do they actually do the draw- down, and do they just redeploy to another city to harass a bunch of citizens, or is this the end of this?” Schatz asked.

Democrats are demanding to enact a series of limits on agents such as requiring body cameras and judicial warrants, forbidding the use of masks and limiting the immunity of officers from lawsuits.

“Without legislation, Donald Trump could choose to put a rogue force in any city and have them operate without guardrails,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said on the Senate floor. “We need legislation to rein in ICE and stop the violence.”

Republicans said that the White House has sent Democrats a good-faith counteroffer and urged Democrats to support a short-term spending bill to allow more time to negotiate.

“It is an extremely serious offer,” Senate Republican leader John Thune said before departing for the break. “It increasingly looks like Democrats are not.”

The Senate began a holiday recess later Thursday with the parties at loggerheads. The House completed its last votes of the week Thursday morning and would need to return to Washington to vote on any DHS funding bill passed by the Senate.

The effects of a DHS shutdown will be minimal. Unlike the record 43-day shutdown last year that touched all government departments, only one agency will be affected.

Activities essential to protecting life and property continue in any shutdown and that is the core of the DHS mission, said Bipartisan Policy Center expert Caleb Quakenbush.

He said under the DHS contingency plan, 92% of DHS employees will remain at work once the shutdown begins.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told reporters near Otay Mesa border crossing south of San Diego that “every other portion of the United States government has been funded except Homeland Security.” That, she said, shows that Democrats are “telling the world that the Democrat party doesn’t think protecting America is safe.”

Federal law enforcement agents during a raid in Minneapolis on Jan. 13.

Photographer: Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg

Disaster relief activities at FEMA will continue unabated and airport screening will also not cease. DHS employees carrying out this activity are paid this Friday but would miss their next paycheck if the shutdown drags more than two weeks. At that point, services could be affected if unpaid employees stop showing up for work.

“At some point you could start to see longer lines at airports and a bit more impact to everyday activities,” Quakenbush said.

Lawmakers will be in contact during the recess, but past showdowns indicate that a final deal only comes together when real world effects mount. That could make the shutdown last a while.

Katie Britt of Alabama, the lead Senate Republican negotiator, urged Democrats to allow a stopgap and avoid such a prolonged lapse.

“We’ve made significant strides. We have texts back and forth, and the fact that Democrats want to make sure that our law enforcement officers go without pay is incredibly short sighted,” she said.

(Updates with Noem remarks, in 16th paragraph.)

--With assistance from Tyler Kendall and Alicia A. Caldwell.

To contact the reporters on this story:
Erik Wasson in Washington at ewasson@bloomberg.net;
Steven T. Dennis in Washington at sdennis17@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Megan Scully at mscully32@bloomberg.net

John Harney

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