President Trump is rejecting a potential deal to reopen most of the Department of Homeland Security and end the funding standoff that has caused turmoil at U.S. airports. Instead, he is urging Republicans to tie the shutdown fight to his push for a bill stiffening voter registration and identification requirements.
Democrats are using funding for DHS as leverage in their effort to reform the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement tactics after federal agents killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis. Now, with the shutdown in its 38th day, airport delays worsening and long security lines frustrating travelers, Trump is choosing to have the partial shutdown continue as he presses lawmakers to pass the SAVE America Act, his proposed package of election changes and transgender policies, which has no clear path to pass the Senate.
Trump demanded Monday that Democrats fully fund DHS and said that he’s instructing Republicans not to cut any deal to reopen the Transportation Security Administration unless they can also pass the SAVE America Act, which he has long said is his top legislative priority.
“As part of homeland security, and I'm suggesting strongly to the Republican Party, don't make any deal on anything,” Trump said at an event in Memphis. “The most important thing we can have is what's called the SAVE America Act. Don't make any deal on anything, unless you include voter ID.”
Trump delivered a similar message in a social media post Sunday night. “I don’t think we should make any deal with the Crazy, Country Destroying, Radical Left Democrats unless, and until, they Vote with Republicans to pass ‘THE SAVE AMERICA ACT,’” he wrote, calling that bill “far more important than anything else we are doing in the Senate.”
Trump also threatened Republicans who don’t get on board with his plan. “They will never be elected again!” he wrote. “In other words, lump everything together as one, and VOTE!!! Kill the Filibuster, and stay in D.C. for Easter, if necessary.”
Senate Republican leaders have said they simply don’t have the votes to end the filibuster, with some in the party warning against the idea.
Trump also pushed his plan directly to Senate Majority Leader John Thune on Sunday. As first reported by Punchbowl News, Trump and Thune discussed the possibility of reopening TSA by funding all of DHS except for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Some Republicans reportedly support the idea to end the current stalemate.
Such a deal would allow Republicans to fend off Democratic demands for immigration enforcement changes — and allow Democrats to avoid having to approve controversial ICE funding. Under the plan, ICE could be funded later via a new Republican budget reconciliation bill that would not need Democratic support. ICE has maintained its operations during the partial shutdown using billions in additional funding provided by last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, also passed via the reconciliation process.
Trump rejected the idea.
‘Make this one for Jesus’: The president has also pressured Republicans to stay in town and skip a scheduled two-week holiday recess set to start at the end of the week. Leaving for the holiday break without funding DHS would mean the shutdown would extend into record territory and TSA agents would miss more paychecks. Thune has indicated he could keep senators in town until they reach a deal.
Trump suggested that senators should keep working on his proposed package. “You don't have to take a fast vote. Don't worry about Easter, going home. In fact, make this one for Jesus. Okay, make this one for Jesus,” Trump said.
Trump reportedly warned that he would publicly criticize Senate Republicans if they went ahead with their holiday. “Trump also said he’d invite all the GOP senators and their families for Easter dinner at the White House,” Punchbowl News noted. “Some Republicans took that as a threat, not a reward.”
Calling on ICE: The president said over the weekend that he will deploy ICE agents to some airports to help speed security lines. He is apparently betting that he can ease the pressure building at airports and increase his leverage over Democrats to help pass the SAVE America Act.
“When I announced yesterday about ICE, the Democrats called, ‘We want to settle,’” Trump told reporters today. “I told the people: ‘Don’t settle, don’t settle, because we have something bigger. Only settle if you get the Save America Act.’”
An opening for Democrats: At the same time, Trump’s very public rejection of a deal to fund TSA and other parts of DHS gives Democrats an opening to lay the blame for travel disruptions squarely at his feet. Democrats have repeatedly tried to fund TSA and other agencies within DHS except for those tied to immigration enforcement. Republicans have blocked those attempts, insisting on funding all of DHS. Democrats have rejected that idea, demanding that ICE agents obtain judicial warrants for searches and stop wearing masks, among other reforms.
“All those long, long lines you're seeing at the airport are thanks to one man: Donald Trump,” Democratic Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii wrote in a social media post Monday. “He was presented with a deal to fund TSA along with the rest of DHS except ICE, and he said no. This is on him.”
What’s next: The shutdown continues, as does the pain at many U.S. airports. More than 400 TSA workers have quit since the shutdown began last month. Some Senate Republicans reportedly are looking to pitch Trump on the benefits of funding TSA and other agencies. For the moment, though, the White House reportedly has paused any further DHS funding talks until Sen. Markwayne Mullin gets confirmed to lead the department. That vote is expected tonight.