DHS shutdown drags into 4th day as Senate Democrats block funding over ICE reforms
The Senate inched closer to striking a compromise on a Homeland Security (DHS) funding deal as the partial government shutdown entered its fourth day Tuesday.Whether Senate Democrats and the White...
By Fox News · Fox News
The Senate inched closer to striking a compromise on a Homeland Security (DHS) funding deal as the partial government shutdown entered its fourth day Tuesday. Whether Senate Democrats and the White House can reach a deal this week while lawmakers are out of town remains an open question. Negotiations between the Trump administration and Senate Democrats were seemingly at an impasse through much of Monday after little activity over the weekend. The White House provided a counteroffer to Democrats’ list of demands midway through last week, which they summarily rejected and, in turn, blocked attempts to fund DHS. PARTIAL GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN DRAGS ON AS DHS FUNDING TALKS STALL But that changed when Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's , D-N.Y., office announced that Senate Democrats had sent their counterproposal to the White House late Monday night. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., was wary of whether Schumer and his caucus would actually put forth a response, but remained hopeful that negotiations would continue. "We'll see if they are at all serious about actually getting a solution to this, or whether they just want to play political games with these really important agencies," Thune told Fox News Digital. He also noted that lawmakers went through the same exercise last year when Senate Democrats slow-walked negotiations during the 43-day shutdown. "It's wrong, in my view, for Democrats to use these folks as collateral in yet another harmful government shutdown," Thune said. 'IT'S ABSURD': DHS SHUTDOWN BEARS DOWN ON US AS LAWMAKERS JET OFF TO EUROPE The administration wants to keep the dialogue going, a White House official told Fox News Digital. "The Trump administration remains interested in having good-faith conversations with Democrats," the White House official said. The official noted that Senate Democrats’ refusal to extend DHS funding is affecting several key functions under the agency’s umbrella, including the Transportation Security Administra…