Republicans broker deal to end DHS shutdown and airport delays

WASHINGTON – Senate Republicans are hopeful they’ll find a viable way to reopen the Department of Homeland Security, four sources familiar with negotiations between the White House and Congress told NBC News.

Republicans believe the bill could win the support of President Donald Trump and secure enough Democratic support to quickly fund the TSA and end long lines at airports.

Asked after the White House meeting if the Republicans have a solution, Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., said: “We have.”

The approach includes defunding the entire DHS without enforcing immigration enforcement and deportation operations under ICE.

Once DHS is up and running again, Republicans will try to use the evidence-based “reconciliation” process to fund all of ICE and pass limited portions of the SAVE America Act, Trump’s most important election bill.

A White House official told NBC News that talks are still ongoing but it appears to be an acceptable solution.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, RS.D., also sounded excited about the proposal, without making any guarantees.

“I feel good about it,” he told reporters Monday night as the Senate wrapped up business for the day, adding that there are details to put down, but “I think we’re in a good place.”

“What I can say is that the discussions were very good and fruitful and I hope they are headed in the right direction,” he said.

The inclusion of some election provisions in the party’s bill could be the reason behind Trump’s support. The president has yet to comment publicly on the new plan.

One source with knowledge of the negotiations warned that budget constraints will severely limit what provisions of the SAVE America Act the Senate can pass on reconciliation, with only Republican votes. That process is seen as the only viable way to pass any provisions in the SAVE America Act as all Democrats oppose the legislation.

Another idea is to provide incentives for states to implement voter ID laws; another idea is to send money to DHS for “election monitoring” and election security, the source said.

The tough deal to fund DHS comes after Trump rejected a similar idea pushed by Sens. John Kennedy, R-La., and Ted Cruz, R-Texas, in recent days.

The two-track plan would also need to be approved by House Republicans, who have a slim majority, before the TSA can return to work. Some conservatives have already expressed skepticism online, but Trump’s endorsement, if he gives it, could go a long way toward garnering enough support to pass.

Democrats are open to the Republican proposal but are not ready to agree to the plan until they see a specific text, said a source familiar with the negotiations.

Democrats also expect they will still ask for more approval after seeing a concrete GOP proposal. While they are eager to get DHS funding approved, with hours-long lines plaguing airports across the country and TSA workers quitting by the hundreds, they are still asking the administration for some restrictions on ICE operations before voting yes on any proposal.

Britt, who chairs the appropriations subcommittee responsible for writing bills to fund DHS, appeared on the Senate floor Monday with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash.

As he left the Capitol late Monday, Britt said he would “be working all night” to try to “bring this plane down.”

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, the main sponsor of the SAVE America Act, warned that the bill as written is not suitable for the reconciliation process.

“It’s hard to imagine how the SAVE America Act could be passed with reconciliation,” Lee wrote Tuesday on X. “And by ‘difficult’ I mean ‘really impossible.’

If attempted, it would be a difficult process subject to unlimited amendments by Democrats, who would seek to force politically uncomfortable votes from Republicans facing voters in the fall election, when control of the Senate is up for grabs.

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said Tuesday she has reservations about trying to pass parts of the SAVE America Act, a bill she passed otherwise.

“I don’t think that’s a good way,” he said.