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Republicans split on DHS funding, edging closer to partial shutdown Republicans split on DHS funding, edging closer to partial agency shutdown
(about 5 hours later)
Congressional Republicans remain sharply divided over the looming standoff over funding the Department of Homeland Security, prompting White House officials to prepare to shut down an agency designed to protect everything from the nation’s borders to the president. Congressional Republicans remained sharply divided Monday over how to fund the Department of Homeland Security, prompting White House officials to begin preparations for a potential shutdown of the agency this weekend.
With four days before the security agency’s budget lapses, Republican elder statesmen are pushing for a new strategy that does not directly link President Obama’s actions on immigration to funding for DHS. The funding has been held up in protest of Obama’s plan to allow temporary residency for more than 4 million illegal immigrants who met certain conditions. “Right now, that does seem to be where we’re headed,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters Monday.
Some Republicans have seized on last week’s ruling from a federal judge in Texas halting the implementation of the Obama orders as the way to keep up the fight without shutting down such a critical security agency. Late Monday, Senate Democrats again filibustered a Republican funding proposal for DHS because the money is tied to a repeal of President Obama’s executive actions on immigration. The House passed the bill in mid-January, and the Senate has been trying unsuccessfully since then to advance the proposal. On Monday the vote was 47 to 46, well short of the 60 votes necessary to overcome the Democrats’ procedural roadblock. The Monday vote marked Republicans’ fourth attempt to move the House bill.
Later Monday the Senate is expected to again fail to reach the 60 votes needed to overcome the united opposition from Democrats, the fourth such roll call this month. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who earlier said his chamber was “stuck,” has not indicated what his next move will be. And House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) has remained steadfast in declaring that the next move must come from the Senate. Congress approved a full year’s funding for the rest of the federal government in December, but Republicans held back funding for DHS in reaction to Obama’s immigration orders, giving the agency budget authority only through midnight Feb. 27.
The standoff has left White House officials preparing for a partial shutdown of the conglomerate domestic security agency, which, among others, includes the Border Patrol, Transportation Security Administration, Secret Service and Federal Emergency Management Agency. Now, with four days before the security agency’s budget lapses, senior Republicans are pushing for a new strategy that does not directly link Obama’s actions on immigration to funding for DHS. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who had previously acknowledged that the chamber was in stalemate over the issue, set up votes later this week on separate legislation that would repeal one of Obama’s immigration orders.
“Right now that does seem to be where we're headed,” White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters Monday. Those orders, issued in December, granted temporary relief from deportation to more than 4 million illegal immigrants. McConnell’s hope is that moving the immigration issue onto a separate bill may create a path for the DHS funding bill to go through.
Most security officers would stay on the job, unpaid, during a shutdown while tens of thousands of administrative staff would be deemed “nonessential” and furloughed until a funding deal was reached. “It’s another way to get the Senate unstuck,” McConnell said.
Senate Republicans viewed the judge’s ruling in Texas as a way to avert the showdown. The standoff has left White House officials preparing for a partial shutdown of the conglomerate domestic security agency, which includes Customs and Border Protection, the Transportation Security Administration, the Secret Service and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
“We now have an exit sign. And that is the federal court decision saying that the president’s actions unilaterally are unconstitutional,” Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” adding that the case will likely end up in the Supreme Court. “I believe we have got an option there that we should pursue.” In the event of a shutdown, the immediate public impact is likely to be minimal. Most security officers would stay on the job, unpaid, during a shutdown while tens of thousands of administrative staffers would be deemed “nonessential” and furloughed until a funding deal was reached.
The ruling stalled the implementation of Obama’s executive actions on immigration. Earnest said that the White House has asked the judge to grant a stay on his order so the plan can go forward as the legal process plays out. Many Senate Republicans seized on last week’s ruling from a federal judge in Texas halting the implementation of the Obama orders as the way to keep up the fight without shutting down a critical security agency.
McCain’s comments were echoed by Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), but House Republicans and some Senate Republicans have been unwilling to take that approach and are instead trying to set up Democrats to receive most of the blame. On Monday all eight Virginia Republicans in the House sent a letter to the state’s two Democratic senators to help break a filibuster in the Senate to pass the GOP-drafted legislation. “We need to fund the Department of Homeland Security. We cannot shut down the Department of Homeland Security,” Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said Monday evening. He repeated himself for emphasis: “I said we cannot shut down the Department of Homeland Security.”
“We have reached a moment of constitutional crisis,” the Republicans wrote to Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine. McCain has called the judicial ruling in Texas “an exit sign” that can keep up the battle without the political consequences of a funding lapse. On Monday, the administration asked U.S. District Judge Andrew S. Hanen to lift his hold on the president’s orders. The government also filed an appeal of Hanen’s decision with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit in New Orleans.
Most congressional Democrats support Obama’s executive actions on immigration, and even those opposed have said that funding DHS is too important an issue to get tied up in the fight over the president’s actions. Democrats also believe they are on sound political ground and that the blame will fall disproportionately on Republicans, as it did during the October 2013 shutdown of the entire federal government. House Republicans and some Senate Republicans have been unwilling to adopt McCain’s approach and are instead trying to set up Democrats to receive most of the blame. On Monday, all eight Virginia Republicans in the House sent a letter to the state’s two Democratic senators in an effort to help break the Senate filibuster of the GOP-drafted legislation.
“We have reached a moment of constitutional crisis,” the Republicans wrote to Sens. Mark R. Warner and Timothy M. Kaine.
Most congressional Democrats support Obama’s executive actions on immigration, and even those opposed have said that funding DHS is too important to be tied up in the fight over the president’s actions. Democrats also believe that they are on sound political ground and that blame for a shutdown would fall disproportionately on Republicans, as it did during the October 2013 shutdown of the entire federal government.
“It’s one of the dumbest things they can do, and it’s also one of the most dangerous things they can do,” Rep. Steve Israel (D-N.Y.) said in an interview. “They are literally flirting with disaster.”“It’s one of the dumbest things they can do, and it’s also one of the most dangerous things they can do,” Rep. Steve Israel (D-N.Y.) said in an interview. “They are literally flirting with disaster.”
Senior Senate Republicans said a DHS shutdown would be a political debacle given the increased violence in the Middle East and new threats of attack against U.S. and European shopping malls. “I do believe in this time where we have the kind of threats that we have from all over the world, we certainly need to make sure that Homeland Security is fully funded. And my guess is we’ll figure out a way to make sure that happens this week,” Corker said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press”. Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, said: “I think the political implications are very bad for the people who want to shut the government down.”
“I hope my House colleagues will understand that our best bet is to challenge this in court, that if we don’t fund the Department of Homeland Security, we’ll get blamed as a party,” Graham said on ABC’s “This Week”. Outside conservative groups, including Heritage Action, have been pushing Republicans not to not approve a “clean” funding plan, demanding that any DHS budget include the immigration provisions that would reverse Obama’s orders.
Outside conservative groups, including Heritage Action, have been pushing Republicans to not approve a so-called clean funding plan, demanding any DHS budget include the riders that would eliminate Obama’s orders on immigration. House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) has sided with Heritage Action and other conservatives, even after the judge’s ruling last week that could tie up the issue for many months in the courts.
So far Boehner has sided with Heritage Action and conservatives, even after the judge’s ruling last week that could tie up the issue for many months in the courts. “The House has passed a bill to fund the Homeland Security Department, but Senate Democrats are blocking debate on it — and, with just days left before the deadline, President Obama is doing nothing to help,” Michael Steel, Boehner’s spokesman, said Monday in a statement.
“Hopefully, Senate Democrats who claim to oppose this executive overreach will now let the Senate begin debate on a bill to fund the Homeland Security Department,” the speaker said in a statement after the ruling. Senior Senate Republicans said a DHS shutdown would be a political debacle given the increased violence in the Middle East and new threats of attack against U.S. and European shopping malls.
McCain said that he is “angry” over the president’s unilateral move but that Republicans are destined to be blamed for a DHS shutdown, which could undermine their broader standing on the issue. “We need to figure out a way to get it funded, and my guess is that will occur,” Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Monday. He suggested that a short-term bill keeping funding at 2014 levels for a couple of months will be approved to allow some of the legal process in Texas to play out.
Another senior senator suggested that the chamber could also hold a nonbinding vote expressing support for the judge’s ruling, so Republicans would be able to express their opposition to Obama’s moves. “One way would be to have a clean DHS funding bill and a resolution that puts the Senate in support of the court’s ruling,” said Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), a former chairman of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” McCain said that he is “angry” over the president’s unilateral move but that Republicans are destined to be blamed for a DHS shutdown, potentially undermining their broader standing on the issue.
“I remember last time we shut down the whole government,” McCain said. “This would obviously be Homeland Security. The last time we shut down the whole government, we turned away 600,000 visitors to our national parks here in Arizona. I don’t want to see that movie again.”“I remember last time we shut down the whole government,” McCain said. “This would obviously be Homeland Security. The last time we shut down the whole government, we turned away 600,000 visitors to our national parks here in Arizona. I don’t want to see that movie again.”
Sen. Joe Manchin III (W.Va.), a conservative Democrat, agreed that the judicial fight over Obama’s actions could break the congressional deadlock on DHS funding. Manchin opposes the president’s immigration actions but has said that the security agency’s funding is too important to get tied up to the immigration fight.
“I think our Republican friends are in perfect position right now with the court order,” Manchin said. “And the president said he would back down and wait until the judge rules. That’s a perfect position to be in to get a clean DHS bill.”
Mike DeBonis contributed to this report.