Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., teed up a key test vote on a funding package to avert a partial government shutdown as Democratic resistance threatens to thrust Washington, D.C., into chaos. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
But Democrats aren’t willing to budge, for now, until the DHS bill is stripped and sidelined.
Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins, R-Maine, said she spoke with DHS Secretary Kristi Noem on Monday, but wouldn’t reveal details of the conversation.
Collins, whose home state is also a target of Noem’s and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), noted that there were already bipartisan restrictions and reforms baked into the current DHS funding bill, like $20 million for body cams and numerous reporting requirements that, if not met, would halt money flowing to immigration operations.
But more could be done if needed.
"I think there might be a way to add some further reforms or procedural protections, but those discussions are ongoing and really involve [Thune]," Collins said.
DEMS' DHS SHUTDOWN THREAT WOULD HIT FEMA, TSA WHILE IMMIGRATION FUNDING REMAINS INTACT
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, is negotiating with Senate Democrats to avoid a government shutdown. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)
"Look, if [Noem] doesn't need the money, then she doesn't need the money, but we can still have some legitimate restrictions on how these people are conducting themselves," Gallego said.
The other reality is that lawmakers are fast running out of time to concoct a solution by the Jan. 30 deadline.
Thursday’s vote, if successful, would tee up several hours of debate on the funding package in the Senate, eating away at valuable time and pushing final passage of the spending bills right to the midnight deadline.
The pressure created by the deadline and Democrats’ sudden reversal from just days before has Republicans scrambling.
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Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., who chairs the Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Committee, is set to be a key figure in any deal that emerges, given that she helped bring an end to the previous shutdown last year.
She told reporters that a "government shutdown does not help anyone," but noted that what the path forward will be "is yet to be determined."
"We're really going to have to put our heads together and figure out how we can make meaningful adjustments that would allow us to move these bills," Britt said. "And so that's what we are looking for."
Alex Miller is a writer for Fox News Digital covering the U.S. Senate.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/senate-republicans-tee-up-key-shutdown-test-vote-democrats-dig-dhs-funding