The Democrats are holding all of DHS shut down, but ICE was fully funded by the Big Bullshit Bill, which is why they're getting paid right now but TSA is not.
I've had a hard time finding out what Republicans are trying to do with reconciliation:
“The Democrats have offered to open up everything but ICE,” Kennedy told Fox News’ Will Cain Monday night. “Ted [Cruz] and I said, ‘okay, let’s accept their offer.’”
“At the same time, we would offer a bill for reconciliation where we don’t need any Democratic votes to do whatever we wanted to do with ICE,” he continued. “That way, we’re out of the shutdown, and DHS is back open. Senator Thune submitted that to President Trump, as is his right, he said no. No deals with the Democrats.”
Kennedy added that since the deal was rejected by Trump, Senate Republicans will attempt to fund all of DHS through a party-line budget reconciliation bill. He said the process will likely take longer, but it will satisfy the president’s desire that no deal be cut with Democrats.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-dhs-government-shutdown-john-kennedy_n_69c212dfe4b04cdc2d781ab0However, this article suggests that whatever it is about, the effort is dead in the water anyway:
Democrats are not the only ones who will need to get on board. Conservative Republicans who have championed the SAVE America Act voter-ID bill have voiced resistance to punting on the legislation and attempting to pass it under the “budget reconciliation” process, a procedural tool for budgetary legislation that requires only a simple majority to pass whereas most measures need 60 votes to clear the Senate.
(snip)
Trouble could also be brewing among the right flank of the House GOP conference. The House Freedom Caucus — which along with Lee and other proponents of the bill have called for the Senate to change its filibuster rules to ensure passage — on Tuesday questioned the strategy. Members cast doubt on whether the SAVE America Act could even be considered under the reconciliation process, citing the chamber’s “arcane rules.”
“This is gaslighting. The American people are not stupid and will not accept more failure theater from Republicans in Congress. PASS THE SAVE AMERICA ACT NOW,” the group posted Tuesday on X.
That hard-line opposition signals a potential intraparty Republican showdown over the strategy, as leadership and moderates try to gauge whether reconciliation — under which the Senate parliamentarian gets to decide what can be considered — is even feasible.
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/24/dhs-homeland-shutdown-tsa-delays-senate-white-house-funding-deal.html
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