Search results for "DHS"

Trump official admits DHS shutdown could linger into summer: 'Morale is low'

The partial break in the Department of Homeland Security shutdown has paradoxically worsened Trump's negotiating position. By paying airport screeners, the administration eliminated the crisis that was supposed to force Democrats to capitulate — and now neither party sees reason to move.

According to Politico, both Democrats and Republicans have dug in with such conviction that neither side believes they have to concede anything. The result: a shutdown that's now expected to drag deep into summer with no resolution in sight.

The House and Senate have adjourned for two weeks. Despite urgent White House calls for early return, neither chamber is seriously considering it. Instead, House and Senate Republicans are locked in a public blame game while Democrats stand firm against funding immigration enforcement agencies without GOP-backed safeguards.

"The House has their process, we have ours and this happens periodically," Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) told reporters Monday — a bland acknowledgment that the party is fractured.

An administration official described the grim reality inside the White House: "People are thinking this will go into the summer."

"Morale is low. The TSA getting paid while the rest of us suffer[sic] is not playing well inside the building," the official added.

Bipartisan negotiations on immigration enforcement changes have produced almost nothing. Trump is making little effort to unite Republicans behind a unified position, let alone push them toward a Democratic compromise.

The fatal mistake was paying the TSA. A DHS official explained that Trump's executive action funding airport screeners, combined with the Senate's passage of a GOP plan to fund most of the department, stripped Republicans of their primary leverage: airport chaos.

"Remember in the last shutdown, it was airport chaos that forced the seven Democrats to switch sides and fund the government," the official said.

That pressure is now gone. While approximately 50,000 airport security officers are now receiving paychecks, thousands of other critical workers remain furloughed or unpaid. This includes more than 2,000 cybersecurity agency employees, more than 4,000 FEMA workers, and more than 1,000 Coast Guard civilians.

Some Republicans are embracing the stalemate as permanent. "We're not going through this again with the Dems," Hoeven told reporters Monday. "We're taking this off the table."

Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) argued Republicans should accept a hard truth: Democrats will never fund immigration enforcement agencies without conditions. The agencies became politically radioactive after federal agents killed two people in Minneapolis in January.

Mike Johnson caves to John Thune in DHS standoff

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) put out a joint statement with Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), effectively surrendering in the standoff on Department of Homeland Security funding and agreeing to pass the bipartisan Senate funding bill that reopens the agency without Immigration and Customs Enforcement or Border Patrol funding.

This comes after House Republicans blocked the same legislation on Friday, which had passed the Senate by a voice vote with no objection from either party. At the time, Johnson demanded any DHS funding bill must fund those agencies as well, echoing demands from President Donald Trump.

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DHS making smart glasses to spy on migrants and protesters: report

The Department of Homeland Security has plans to create smart glasses that can spy on immigrants and protesters, according to a new report.

Journalist Ken Klippenstein reported on Substack, citing budget documents, that DHS is building on existing technology to create the glasses, which could record video and give agents instant access to data about someone's immigration status and other biometric data held by the federal government. Klippenstein said the project is part of DHS's goal to create a "ubiquitous surveillance" world.

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Exposé of Kristi Noem's DHS agency spotlights age discrimination case

A 68-year-old retired Ohio police officer uncovered how ICE's hiring surge under former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem generated over 10,000 equal opportunity legal complaints, many related to age discrimination.

The retired police officer identified himself only using his first name, Doug.

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Far-right Freedom Caucus breaks with Trump on DHS funding: report

The far-right Freedom Caucus is openly defying Donald Trump by rejecting his endorsed two-step funding plan for the Department of Homeland Security — a stunning rebuke that exposes the fracturing Republican Party and leaves Speaker Mike Johnson, once again, scrambling to hold his caucus together.

According to The Hill's Emily Brooks, the Freedom Caucus issued an official statement Tuesday publicly rejecting Trump's compromise, which would fund most of DHS through a bipartisan Senate bill while using budget reconciliation to separately fund ICE and Border Patrol.

"We cannot leave ICE and CBP hanging with nothing but hopes and prayers that reconciliation 2.0 comes together. That's why we must use reconciliation to fully fund ALL of the Department of Homeland Security!" the Freedom Caucus declared on X.

The defiance is particularly striking because Trump himself endorsed the two-step plan last week alongside Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Speaker Johnson. But the hardliners aren't backing down.

"We must provide robust funding for ICE and CBP, and it should be done with all of DHS in reconciliation 2.0. We can fund DHS for the rest of the President's term to ensure Democrats can never again take our nation's security hostage."

"We will never hand Democrats their ultimate prize: A defunded ICE, handcuffed CBP, and criminal aliens terrorizing our communities," the caucus added — language that suggests the hardliners view Trump's compromise as capitulation.

Johnson faces an impossible task. He had already rejected the two-step plan as a "joke" before Trump forced him to publicly support it. Now the Freedom Caucus is calling his bluff, demanding a full GOP reconciliation bill that funds all of DHS at once.

Trump's recent executive order paying DHS employees despite the shutdown eliminated the political pressure that typically forces deals. The Freedom Caucus is now exploiting that breathing room to push for total victory rather than compromise.

The intraparty warfare signals a prolonged DHS funding battle ahead — and growing evidence that even Trump's endorsement can't unite a fractured Republican caucus.

GOP fractures deepen: Thune blindsides Johnson in DHS shutdown fight

The Republican Party's internal warfare over the DHS shutdown has exposed a stunning divide between Senate and House leadership, with Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) cutting a deal that left House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) completely out of the loop — and fuming.

According to MS NOW's Mychael Schnell, Thune won the political war, but both leaders emerged from the funding battle bruised and bloodied, with Donald Trump wielding his unpredictable power to destabilize the process at will.

Early last Friday morning, the Senate unanimously backed a compromise to fund most of DHS while leaving the most contentious provisions for a future reconciliation bill. It appeared to be a workable solution. At 2:41 a.m., Thune sounded cautiously optimistic about Trump's support.

Then everything fell apart.

Minutes after the Senate passed its bill, Johnson called Trump to say his House conference would reject the deal. Later that morning, Johnson told his members that Thune had cut them out entirely.

"They cut off communications with us last night," Johnson said on the Friday conference call. "The Senate did this without informing me or even all of their members or the White House. No one was involved."

But Thune's account contradicted Johnson's narrative. The Senate leader said he had texted with Johnson overnight, going "back and forth a little bit" about the deal. Multiple sources confirmed Thune had given Johnson advance notice, suggesting Thune was actually shocked by Johnson's sudden opposition — not the other way around.

House Republicans were livid about the method of notification. One GOP member, speaking anonymously, complained that Thune had texted Johnson instead of calling about a deal of such magnitude.

"When you do something like that, you don't f------ text. You pick up the phone and call," the Republican said.

The clash exposes fundamentally different political realities facing the two leaders. Thune operates in the Senate, where the 60-vote threshold forces bipartisan compromise and gives him flexibility to cut deals. Johnson commands a paper-thin House majority under constant threat of revolt — with hard-liners wielding the motion to vacate as a weapon that could cost him his job.

"There are different dynamics," one Senate Republican explained. "Johnson has to contend more with his right flank. Thune has to deal with senators in the middle. They're playing to different bases."

But both leaders now face an unpredictable third force: a president whose shifting positions can upend the entire process overnight, leaving everyone scrambling.

Jim Jordan derails DHS funding to preserve warrantless migrant arrests

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) threatened Wednesday to derail DHS funding negotiations, rejecting Democratic demands requiring judicial warrants before immigration enforcement agents raid homes.

Speaking on CNBC, Jordan dismissed the warrant requirement as "crazy" and described Democratic demands as "stupid," lacking "common sense."

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