Ten Days Left As DHS Shutdown Looks All But Certain

With just 10 days left before funding expires, Congress appears no closer to averting a shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security — and senior lawmakers on both sides are openly signaling that failure is likely.

At the heart of the impasse is immigration enforcement, long the most radioactive issue in Washington. Democrats want tighter controls on federal agents, including stricter warrant requirements, limits on masking, and new guardrails following the killing of 37-year-old Alex Pretti by DHS agents in Minneapolis last month. Republicans have flatly rejected those demands.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune warned Tuesday that reaching a deal before the Feb. 13 deadline is effectively impossible, calling the two-week extension Democrats demanded an error from the start. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries ruled out another short-term funding patch, raising the odds of a prolonged shutdown.

The political reality is awkward for both parties. Immigration agencies like ICE and Border Patrol are already funded through a Republican megabill passed last summer — meaning enforcement would largely continue uninterrupted. Instead, a shutdown would hammer agencies with little to do with border policy, including TSA, FEMA, the Coast Guard, the Secret Service, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

Negotiations are barely happening. Democrats say Republicans are refusing to engage in good faith.

Republicans argue that any real deal must be driven by the White House, not Congress. Even who should be negotiating remains in dispute.

Republicans are pushing to use the deadline to crack down on “sanctuary cities,” with proposals backed by President Donald Trump that would punish local officials who refuse to cooperate with federal immigration authorities. Democrats say those measures are dead on arrival and accuse the GOP of trying to hijack a funding bill to impose sweeping immigration changes.

With lawmakers openly skeptical a deal is even possible, the countdown to a DHS shutdown is accelerating — and neither side appears willing to blink.

Key Takeaways

• Lawmakers have just 10 days left, and leaders are already signaling a shutdown.

• Immigration enforcement demands have frozen negotiations before they’ve begun.

• A shutdown would hit TSA, FEMA and the Coast Guard — not border enforcement.

SOURCE: POLITICO

I'll never understand gubmint spending. I was under the impression DHS had been granted a gajillion dollars, now they're broke and about to shut down?