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

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9 months ago

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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.

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Congress

Turner, Hudson among the latest GOP losers as Democrats reach 250 seats in the House

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2 minutes ago

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November 5, 2026

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Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio), a longtime lawmaker and former chair of the House Intelligence Committee, lost his bid for reelection to Democrat Kristina Knickerbocker, The Associated Press projected Thursday afternoon, the latest Republican in red territory to be overwhelmed by this week’s blue wave.

That result, alongside National Republican Congressional Committee Chair Richard Hudson’s (R-N.C.) defeat to Richard Ojeda in North Carolina, has vaulted Democrats over 250 seats in the House for the first time since the 2008 election.

Hudson — who had already conceded defeat Wednesday — is the second party committee chair to go down in recent years. Then-Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chair Sean Patrick Maloney lost in 2022 to Republican Mike Lawler.

(Lawler also lost Tuesday.)

The AP also projected that two more Republican incumbents — Juan Ciscomani (R-Ariz.) and Jeff Crank (R-Colo.) — also lost amid a massive blue wave, as voters vent their frustrations with President Donald Trump, inflation and the ongoing war in Iran.

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) did, however, manage to hang onto her seat — just barely. Trump cruised in her district by more than 13 points in 2024. She won by fewer than 3,000 votes.

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Democrats continue midterm blowout, picking up seats in North Carolina, Virginia and Arizona

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2 hours ago

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November 5, 2026

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Democrats have extended their midterm dominance in North Carolina, notching four more victories — including three flips — in districts affected by Republicans’ mid-decade redistricting push last year.

Democrats Cyril Jefferson, Paul Barringer and Lakesha Womack upset incumbent Republican Reps. Addison McDowell, Brad Knott and Tim Moore, respectively. Elsewhere in the state, two-term Rep. Don Davis (D-N.C.) defeated Republican Laurie Buckhout in the state’s redrawn 1st District. Democrats have now won eight House seats in North Carolina and could still win two more, despite an October 2025 map redraw that favored Republicans in 11 of the state’s 14 seats.

The wins reinforce Democrats’ yawning House majority, which the party secured relatively early Tuesday, as voters punish President Donald Trump and the GOP for sky-high prices and the continued war in Iran.

Davis’ redrawn district favored Trump by more than 11 points in 2024, and he currently leads it by 10,000 votes with 1% of the vote left to count.

The party flipped several more high-profile seats in other states, The Associated Press projected Thursday, with physician Amish Shah besting former NFL kicker Jay Feely in Arizona’s open 1st District. Democrats have long coveted the suburban Phoenix seat, held in recent years by GOP Rep. David Schweikert.

In Virginia, Democratic prosecutor Shannon Taylor flipped a district represented by GOP Rep. Rob Wittman since 2007.

Sam Forstag, a former smokejumper, became the first Democrat to win a House seat in Montana in decades, claiming victory in a district the president won by nearly 12 points two years ago.

Republicans were still able to hold a handful of seats in longtime ruby-red territory, albeit by significantly smaller margins than expected. New York GOP Reps. Andrew Garbarino and Nick LaLota scraped victories in their Long Island districts. So too did Reps. French Hill (R-Ark.), Matt Van Epps (R-Tenn.), John McGuire (R-Va.) and Blake Moore (R-Utah).

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Steve Scalise tells GOP chairs to prep for Democratic investigations

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2 hours ago

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November 5, 2026

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House Majority Leader Steve Scalise told GOP committee chairs Thursday to steel themselves for upcoming Democratic investigations into President Donald Trump’s administration and other targets.

“Although they ran on affordability, it is clear the main focus of their new majority will be retribution and unleashing countless witch hunts under the guise of ‘oversight,’” he said of Democrats in the letter obtained by POLITICO.

Scalise told the chairs to take “inventory” of the investigations they believe Democrats could launch under their committees’ jurisdiction and identify administration officials who could be targets.

He also warned Democrats have “signaled they intend to impeach President Trump, but they will not stop there.” He also noted that Democrats are expected to target Trump’s family, cabinet officials and key allies.

“You all will be a key line of defense in this fight, and we must maximize our remaining days in power to prepare for what is coming,” Scalise said in the letter.

The Louisiana Republican is currently in a battle with Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan — known for his oversight and investigations experience — to take over as top GOP leader next Congress. Jordan is arguing to members he is best prepared to counter Democrats, calling himself “battle-tested on the oversight front” in his letter to colleagues.

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