With a partial government shutdown looming at weeks end, Senate Republicans are weighing a maneuver that could keep most of Washington funded while effectively sidelining the nations border security apparatus.
According to Gateway Pundit, a bloc of GOP senators is openly debating whether to peel the Homeland Security appropriations bill away from a broader six-bill spending package in order to avert a shutdown that would hit the Pentagon and several other major departments. The package currently on the table covers funding for the Departments of Defense, Health and Human Services, Labor, Education, Transportation, State, and a range of financial services-related agencies.
Left out of that potential deal would be the Department of Homeland Security, the agency charged with border security, immigration enforcement, and counterterrorism at a time when the southern border is already under historic strain. For conservatives who have demanded a secure border and robust enforcement, the idea of moving forward on everything except DHS looks less like compromise and more like surrender.
Rep. Andy Ogles sounded the alarm on X, warning that Democrats are exploiting the standoff to undermine core security functions. Democrats are trying to defund ICE, Border Patrol, FEMA, TSA, the Coast Guard, and the Secret Service because Donald Trump is president. America voted for mass deportations, and DHS is delivering.
Ogles aligned himself firmly with the House Freedom Caucus, insisting that conservatives cannot afford to blink. I stand with [Freedom Caucus] and will not bend when it comes to fully funding DHS, defunding sanctuary cities, and crushing the coordinated attacks on our federal agents by Soros-backed insurrectionists. Democrats have called for total war against the law of the United States. We must fight it in Congress.
In the Senate, Appropriations Committee member Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) acknowledged that many Republicans are prepared to cut DHS loose if that is what it takes to move the rest of the spending bills. A bunch of GOP senators, Kennedy said, would be willing to set aside DHS funding if thats the only way to move the other bills forward.
Kennedy suggested that GOP leadership is reluctant to admit how far they may be willing to go, even as the pattern of Democrat obstruction is all too familiar. Sen. Thune cant admit it because hes got to act like a tough guy and the White House is negotiating and all of that, but most of you have been around here for a while and most of us have seen this vampire movie before, Kennedy said on Wednesday.
He also pointed directly at Democrats for refusing to take a clear stand on border security funding. I think the Democrats dont want to vote for a Homeland Security bill, he said. If thats the case, then what are our choices? To throw out all the bills? Or one?
Senate Majority Whip John Thune (R-SD) has publicly maintained that his preference is to advance all six bills together, particularly with the House in recess and unable to quickly respond to changes. Yet his comments already hint at a willingness to accept a watered-down outcome that keeps the bureaucracy humming while the border remains in flux.
Thune has not dismissed the idea of stripping DHS from the package and substituting a short-term Continuing Resolution for Homeland Security if Democrats continue to block the broader deal. Government shutdowns dont benefit anyone. We ought to pass the bill on the floor, FULLY FUND the government, and move on to other things the American people expect us to work on! Thune told reporters.
One senior Republican senator, speaking anonymously, conceded that the conference is likely to fold if Democrats refuse to budge. If that was all that was left, wed probably do it, the lawmaker said, signaling a readiness to prioritize avoiding a shutdown over securing the border.
If DHS funding is carved out and left to a temporary patch or prolonged negotiations, border enforcement could be left in limbo while the rest of the federal government continues business as usual. For voters who backed President Trumps agenda of strong borders and law enforcement, the coming days will reveal whether Republican leaders are prepared to hold the lineor once again trade away security for short-term political convenience.
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