Senate Democrats plot strategy as DHS standoff deepens heading into shutdown week
WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats held a conference call Sunday to discuss their strategy after making clear they would block a Department of Homeland Security funding bill if it did not include changes to impose conditions on immigration enforcement operations.
The Senate is heading into a critical week with a Friday deadline to fund the government or face a partial shutdown.
The package does not have the 60 votes it needs. Without them, much of the federal government could shut down at 12:01 a.m. Saturday.
Two sources on the call told NBC News that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., told the caucus that the message should be to “restrict, reform and restrain ICE.”
According to one of the sources, Schumer told them the vote would not take place until Thursday and that he discussed unity in the Democratic caucus opposed to defunding DHS without reforms. He said the other five funding bills, aside from the DHS measure, are acceptable.
“Fundamentally, DHS is the problem and needs to be abolished,” the source summed up Schumer as saying.
Sen. Chris Murphy, Democrat of Connecticut, pushed the caucus to put forward a demand for DHS reforms, two sources with knowledge of his comments said.
Republicans could limit the scope of a shutdown by voting separately on and passing non-DHS measures.
Despite this, a Senate Republican aide told NBC News they still plan to vote on the package as a whole.
“Government funding expires at the end of the week and Republicans are determined not to experience another government shutdown,” the aide said. “We will move forward as planned and hope Democrats find a path to join us.”
According to a Democratic adviser to the Senate, the Republicans and the White House have contacted them but “have not yet proposed realistic solutions”.
To further complicate matters, the House is in recess all week, so anything that revises this package and requires it to be voted on again is also questionable before the deadline. There is also the snowstorm which postponed the start of the Senate from Monday to Tuesday.
Schumer said in a statement released earlier Sunday: “Senate Democrats will not allow the current DHS funding bill to move forward. …The horrific murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti on the streets of Minneapolis must lead Republicans to join Democrats in overhauling ICE and CBP to protect the public.”
Schumer added: “Senate Republicans must work with Democrats to advance the other five funding bills while we work to rewrite the DHS bill. »
