Congress
Johnson hammers Senate Dems with shutdown impacts in their states
Speaker Mike Johnson continued to hit Senate Democrats Wednesday for blocking a government funding stopgap — this time by highlighting the shutdown fallout in their states.
During a press conference Wednesday, Johnson showcased a series of headlines from across the country.
“Remember Georgia’s two Democrat senators, [Raphael] Warnock and [Jon] Ossoff, have now voted five times to keep the government closed down,” Johnson said, telling the story of families in the Peach State worried about access to food banks. “I suspect they may continue, and they’re hurting real people in the state of Georgia.”
He moved on to New Hampshire Democratic Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan.
“Let me point out that both senators … have repeatedly voted to keep to keep government closed and New Hampshire’s national park sites closed by extension,” Johnson said.
Johnson also noted the fallout to air traffic controllers and flights safety across the country as aviation sector employees continue to toil in high-pressure jobs without certainty of when they’ll receive their next paychecks.
Later Wednesday morning, the Senate will hold a sixth vote on dueling stopgap funding bills that are both expected to fail as both parties remain dug in and formal negotiations to end the stalemate remain nonexistent. Privately, Republicans admit they were perhaps too confident that Democrats would quickly fold and now the shutdown continues with no end in sight.
Congress
John Thune says he’s aiming to land DHS deal Thursday
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he wants to clinch a bipartisan Department of Homeland Security funding agreement Thursday.
“I think the Dems are now in possession of what I think is our last and final” offer, Thune told reporters. “So let’s hope this gets it done.”
“We’re going to know soon,” he added.
The South Dakota Republican declined to discuss details of the offer but suggested it was similar to where the discussions were headed over the weekend. GOP senators then were looking at a bipartisan deal that would fund most of DHS but leave out funding for ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations.
That offer was rejected by Democrats. But two people granted anonymity to discuss the revised proposal said it, too, omitted only ERO money but included additional language to try to address some of Democrats’ concerns.
Spokespeople for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Senate is expected to vote again on the House-passed DHS bill Thursday afternoon. The House is also voting again on DHS funding Thursday and is planning to leave town Friday morning for a two-week holiday recess. Progress in the Senate could prompt House GOP leaders to stay in session in hopes of sending a bill to President Donald Trump.
Asked about the Senate vote, Thune said he hoped there would be “some finality in this real soon.”
Congress
Collins meets the Problem Solvers
Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins joined the House Problem Solvers Caucus lunch Thursday to talk about the stalled Homeland Security funding effort and proposals to overhaul federal immigration enforcement activities.
“I think everyone is pretty frustrated at this point,” the Maine Republican said in an interview after the bipartisan meeting.
The centrist group, which extended the invitation to Collins, talked through the pain points on finding a path out of the DHS shutdown that has stretched more than 40 days and is triggering massive air travel disruptions. The conversation comes ahead of a House vote later Thursday on funding DHS, where moderates are looking to break the impasse.
Meredith Lee Hill, Jordain Carney and Riley Rogerson contributed to this report.
Congress
Brian Fitzpatrick delivers a warning on GOP reconciliation redo
As House Republicans start to dream big about another party-line bill, one key member who voted down the last GOP reconciliation bill is warning his colleagues not to count on his support.
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) referenced his vote last summer against the “big, beautiful bill” in an interview Thursday and suggested he was prepared to oppose another GOP-only bill if it, too, includes spending cuts he opposes to social programs.
“You saw what I did on the first reconciliation bill,” Fitzpatrick said. Fitzpatrick and just one more House Republican could be enough to tank a party-line package given Speaker Mike Johnson’s slim majority.
Still, many of Fitzpatrick’s colleagues are making plans for an expansive new GOP-only bill that would include more money for Homeland Security operations, Iran war funding and other cost-of-living priorities, while demanding it be fully offset with spending cuts — possibly from social programs targeted for “fraud prevention.”
“You never say ‘never’ at anything, but I’m never a fan of single-party bills,” Fitzpatrick said. “That’s just my approach to government.”
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