Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) floated the option as a possible lifeline for those going unpaid at DHS agencies such as TSA, the Coast Guard, and Secret Service amid “slow moving” immigration enforcement negotiations with Democrats in exchange for funding.
But a senior administration official, granted anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, said Thursday that because of the discretionary appropriations structure for DHS, the White House budget office cannot shift funds from other accounts as it did during last year’s shutdown to pay military troops with unspent research, development, and procurement defense funds.
Instead, the official pressed for Democrats, who are blocking funding until a deal is reached on new restrictions for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, to relent on their demands.
“[The] best way to get TSA paid is for Democrats to vote to reopen the government and not hold this key funding hostage,” the official said.
During negotiations prior to the partial shutdown that began Feb. 14, Democrats pushed to fund everything under DHS except ICE to limit the shutdown’s impact. They wanted Congress to appropriate the funds rather than the administration shuffling money around as it did for defense spending during last year’s prolonged shutdown.
Thune suggested Wednesday that the White House might have the authority and resources to step in for unpaid workers under DHS, underscoring the lack of progress with reaching a deal on Democratic demands to restrict President Donald Trump‘s deportation agenda in exchange for overcoming a filibuster. The approach would take pressure off Democrats while allowing Republicans to sidestep the scrutiny of passing a spending bill that omits ICE.
Trump’s massive tax and spending legislation that passed last year funds ICE into 2029, including during the shutdown, lowering pressure to fund the agency immediately.
“Anything you can do to keep people employed,” Thune told reporters Wednesday. “If they can figure out a way to pay government employees, absolutely. These are people who have jobs and have commitments and have families.”
On Thursday, he described bipartisan talks on ICE as “slow-moving” but maintained “hope for a breakthrough.”
THUNE FLOATS WHITE HOUSE LIFELINE FOR UNPAID DHS WORKERS AS SHUTDOWN DRAGS ON
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said the ball was in Republicans’ court to fund DHS after submitting their latest counteroffer to the White House more than a week ago.
“Very simply, all they have to do is agree with our simple ideas that every police department — just about — in America follows, and we’ll get it all done,” Schumer said. “It’s plain and simple.”
