Homeland Security funding crisis deepens amid ongoing political standoff

“I can’t believe they just left!”

“Why didn’t they stay until it was fixed?”

“Why didn’t they make them stay?”

I must have received forty questions last week from colleagues, friends and acquaintances. Even reporters and editorial staff from other news organizations. And that’s not to say any little Congressional aides.

Everyone had the same question. They were in disbelief that lawmakers left the Capitol a week ago Thursday and left Department of Homeland Security Unfunded on Saturday at 12:00:01 AM ET.

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Senate Democrats blocked a short-term funding bill, derailing efforts to keep the Department of Homeland Security and its agencies operating. (Photo by Heather Diehl/Getty Images)

The Senate twice tried to avoid a partial government shutdown on Thursday. The Senate failed to break a filibuster on an unspecified funding bill. Then Sen. Chris Murphy, Democrat of Connecticut, objected to a request by Sen. Katie Britt, Republican of Alabama, to approve a two-week stopgap funding bill. Passing the bill requires the approval of all 100 senators. But all it takes is one objection. And Murphy is talking about Many Democrats On both sides of the Capitol, I mediated to deflect Brett’s efforts.

“I’m done with it!” an angry Brett shouted on the Senate floor, as Congress sent at least part of the federal government into its third shutdown since Oct. 1.

Democrats are refusing to fund the Department of Homeland Security until a specific agreement is reached to reform US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Few Democrats will say it out loud, but their base insists that Democrats shut down the Department of Homeland Security over ICE’s tactics after the killings of Rene Judd and Alex Peretti in Minneapolis.

This is somewhat ironic. Republicans funded ICE through 2029 with one big, beautiful bill last year. So, thanks to Democrats, the TSA, the Coast Guard and the Federal Emergency Management Agency — all under the auspices of the Department of Homeland Security — are currently out of money. This means tens of thousands of employees are technically working without pay, screening passengers at airports, patrolling the seas, and responding to natural disasters.

This brings us back to the basic question: Why didn’t they stay until they found out?

As a reporter, I’ve covered dozens of internet shutdowns, partial shutdowns, near shutdowns, and flirting with shutdowns. That’s not to mention the various permutations of temporary spending bills — long and short — known as continuing resolutions, or CRs. These bills keep funding flowing at the old spending level — until lawmakers all agree on something new. Sometimes one CR generates another CR. And even one more after that until everything is resolved. Exercise can continue for several months.

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Sen. Katie Britt expressed her frustration on the Senate floor after her stopgap bill was blocked. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

But as far as DHS is concerned, lawmakers won’t resolve the issues surrounding ICE right away. So both the House and Senate got out of Dodge last Thursday as the deadline approached. Lawmakers were everywhere from the Middle East to Munich when the bell rang at midnight Saturday, and the Department of Homeland Security entered a slow-speed funding collapse.

Failure to fund the Department of Homeland Security may seem unconscionable from a political standpoint – regardless of your opinion of ICE. But it is not unreasonable to understand politics and Congressional Actions to Fund ICE.

Suppose they were close to reaching an agreement to fund DHS. That may involve some last-minute paper trading between Senate and House leaders. Maybe a call or two from the president to hesitant Republicans. If lawmakers thought the agreement was within scope, it is doubtful that leaders would get rid of members. They would have stayed if there had been a viable path to getting something done last Friday, for the Senate to speed up the process and vote either on Saturday or Sunday (albeit after the deadline) and then vote in the House on Monday. All this in light of the nearness of reaching an agreement.

They were nowhere near that point when lawmakers called it last Thursday. Democrats did not send their offer for several days after a brief 78% government shutdown more than two weeks ago. Democrats then criticized Republicans and the White House for slowly launching a counteroffer. Democrats then rejected the GOP plan, only sending another one late Monday.

Reaching an agreement that can be approved by the House and Senate — and overcoming Senate filibusters — takes time. There was simply no deal to be reached yet.

This is where things get really interesting. With no deal in sight, you simply don’t put lawmakers in Washington doing nothing. There is nothing to vote on. There are no committee meetings scheduled. All legislators who connect D.C. to D.C. are doing is causing trouble.

There’s a line in the song “Problem” in Meredith Wilson’s The Music Man: “An idle mind is the devil’s playground.” Who knows what kind of mischief could be done, just having cranky lawmakers hang around Washington for days — without anything to vote on. Keeping everyone here does nothing to secure the deal. Yes, all 532 members of the House and Senate (there are two vacancies in the House) must eventually be contacted to vote on a bill to fund DHS. But we’re not there yet. It will be a group of members in the House of Representatives, the Senate and people in the White House who will negotiate an agreement. Ordinary members being stranded in Washington doing nothing but posting obscene things on social media and appearing on cable TV is counterproductive.

Now, let’s look at the other scenario of getting close to an agreement. house and Senate leaders They may think they are still a little short of votes. But if something is workable, leaders know they can get votes through some arm-twisting, legislative and psychological massage, and a few tough phone calls. Yes, this process may require elbow grease. But in this case, keeping everyone in Washington for a few extra days and canceling the long-awaited congressional recess actually helps the process.

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TSA officers, Coast Guard members and Federal Emergency Management Agency employees are working without pay as DHS funding continues to lapse. (Photo by Heather Diehl/Getty Images)

Why?

Think Stockholm Syndrome. You ask everyone to stay in Washington for an extra day or two, and the hostages will begin to learn the views of their captors. Yes, everyone is frustrated and crazy. But they feel the bill is something they can support and finally put an end to this trifecta From government closures. In this case, the turbulence builds up – but only a little. Everyone is happy to vote yes and get off Capitol Hill.

If they had been on the verge of reaching an agreement on DHS funding, congressional leaders would have deployed a version of Stockholm Syndrome to end everything.

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But with no agreement reached, leaders were more fearful of the chaos they might cause by keeping everyone in Washington. Satan was roaming freely in the playground of idle minds.

How will you know when there is an agreement?

When everyone is present and accounted for.