After more than a month of political stalemate, the Senate Democrats are finally flinching, and a deal to reopen the Department of Homeland Security seems within reach - even if the path looks like a compromise designed to please no one.
Key Senate Republicans left the White House late Monday in a noticeably upbeat mood, telling colleagues that there is now a realistic framework to get DHS running again, even as President Donald Trump continues to demand that the SAVE America Act be “welded in” to any funding package.
According to a report from Punchbowl News, the outlines of the emerging agreement would fund nearly all of DHS while carving out ICE’s migrant removal operations, then use a separate reconciliation bill to backfill ICE and press ahead with the two key provisions of the SAVE America Act (proof of citizenship to register to vote and a photo ID to cast a ballot in federal election) that Trump has made very clear is his top legislative priority.
“This framework is similar to the outlines of an agreement that Senate Majority Leader John Thune discussed with Trump on Sunday - a strategy that the president rejected. Trump has insisted on tying the SAVE America Act to DHS funding, complicating matters even further. Thune said this was ‘not realistic,” explains Punchbowl. “It’s too early to say whether this DHS framework will satisfy Senate Democrats. There are several key details that still need to be ironed out. But many Democrats pointed to what they see as a sense of urgency to get something done, especially as nightmarish TSA security lines cause chaos for millions of air travellers.”
Republican leaders, including Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), are openly talking about a two‑step reconciliation strategy: first, fund the rest of ICE using budget‑reconciliation so Democrats do not have to vote “yes,” and second, attach pieces of the SAVE America Act to a broader reconciliation package that could also include a $200 billion defense‑spending push and random pet priorities from the GOP base. Kennedy has framed reconciliation as the only way to get policies through amid Democratic obstruction, but he acknowledges there is a question as to whether the votes are there.
“It’ll take a little longer,” Kennedy said. “But we could do it. If you want to throw in the SAVE Act, I’m fine with that. I don’t know how feasible that is in terms of the whip count.”
Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) noted that the reconciliation process itself takes “about a month,” meaning even if leadership wanted to rush a deal, the machinery of the Senate would impose a natural delay.
Behind the closed‑door negotiations is another quiet calculation: the Senate parliamentarian. Republicans know that using reconciliation to pass the SAVE America Act’s citizenship‑verification and voter‑ID provisions is no sure thing, and many privately doubt the parliamentarian will bless such a move.
That raises the possibility of a vote to overrule Elizabeth MacDonough, a nuclear‑option maneuver that would infuriate Democrats and probably trigger a fresh round of partisan recriminations. Thune has previously cast doubt on that idea, suggesting he would rather avoid the backlash than force the vote. However, there is precedent, since Democrats used reconciliation to pass Obamacare back in 2010.
Both sides also know that the DHS shutdown cannot go on indefinitely, and both want to emerge from this standoff claiming victory. But, with Democrats appearing eager to do something, it’s clearly progress.