For the first time in more than a month, there’s optimism the partial government shutdown could end soon! Senate Republicans emerged gleeful from a meeting at the White House on Monday night.
What changed?: President Trump appears to have shifted gears. The White House says he is now willing to end the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown without first passing his voter requirements bill.
OK, so what’s the deal?: Senate Republicans would agree to fund everything in the DHS, except for Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) migrant removal operations.
Does that mean Republicans caved?: Not really. Republicans would then fund the rest of ICE in a reconciliation package, which they can do without any Democratic support. That follow-up reconciliation bill could also include elements of Trump’s voter requirements bill.
Democrats wouldn’t vote to fund ICE’s deportation efforts. Republicans are instead pushing to pass their more partisan priorities on their own, while delivering to Trump some of the elements of his election bill.
What happens now?: We wait to hear whether this deal is enough to satisfy Democrats. Senators are scheduled to leave at the end of the week for a two-week Easter recess. The question is: Can they reopen the DHS before then? And if they can’t, will senators stay in town? Remember: they’re running on fumes after working through last weekend.
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HOW IS THIS PROPOSAL GOING OVER?:
Republican Sen. Rick Scott (Fla.) thinks it’s a ‘pipe dream’: Scott, who is one of Trump’s biggest allies on Capitol Hill, thinks the deal to break up DHS funding “doesn’t make any sense.”
THIS COULDN’T COME AT A BETTER TIME:
Airport security lines are worsening across the U.S. A record number of TSA agents called out on Saturday and airport wait times are expected to get worse.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers have been spotted at more than a dozen airports to assist with security. 📝 List of airports with ICE officers
BUT WAIT — WHAT IS ICE’S ROLE IN AIRPORT SECURITY?:
White House border czar Tom Homan said ICE agents will not be directly involved in airport security screening. Homan now says that ICE agents will be arresting “criminals” at airports.
Homan told Fox News’s “Hannity”: “We’re going to arrest criminals going through the airport. We’re going to look for human trafficking, sex trafficking, money smuggling. We’re going to be at the airports, working with our brothers and sisters from TSA.”
For what it’s worth, former White House strategist and podcaster Steve Bannon says the ICE deployment in airports is a “test run” for the 2026 midterms.
LAWMAKERS LOST THEIR SPECIAL DELTA CUSTOMER SERVICE:
Delta Air Lines is suspending its dedicated flight assistance for members of Congress during the partial government shutdown, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Timing: The Senate just approved a measure to end preferential treatment for lawmakers traveling through the airport. For example, they were allowed to skip the lines at security checkpoints.
