DHS negotiations have yet to get underway, Thune says, as shutdown clock ticks

With eight days to avert a Department of Homeland Security shutdown, serious negotiations have yet to begin, Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Thursday.

The South Dakota Republican said Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.), who is leading the talks for Republicans, has reached out to Democrats for a sitdown but has gotten “crickets” so far in response.

Britt publicly slammed a Democratic offer released Wednesday night as a “a ridiculous Christmas list of demands for the press,” while Thune also pooh-poohed the proposal from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

“There are a few things that there’s probably some room to negotiate on,” Thune said about the 10-item list. “But a lot of that stuff obviously just wasn’t serious.”

Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, who is the top Democrat on the Appropriations subpanel overseeing DHS that Britt chairs, said Thursday, “I don’t think that’s accurate” when asked about claims that Democrats were not willing to sit down. Britt was also spotted talking Thursday afternoon with Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), a frequent leadership go-between.

Thune is waiting to see if the talks shake loose by Thursday afternoon, when senators will leave Washington for the week. He warned he is ready to start moving Monday to pass another DHS stopgap bill ahead of the Feb. 13 deadline.

“If they refuse to sit down and actually come to the table and negotiate, pretty clearly we’ll need one,” Thune said.

Republicans haven’t decided how long that stopgap should be. Thune has floated a two- or three-week patch if negotiations are ongoing but is also warning Congress could shift to long-term continuing resolution, keeping current funding levels in place through September, if talks don’t progress.

He said Thursday that the length of the stopgap would depend on what Democrats would accept since their votes will be needed to advance another patch through the Senate. Many House and Senate Democrats have vowed not to support another CR, though a crucial swath of senators have left the door open.