The last few weeks have had some serious challenges for the Republican Party and the Trump administration.
A spending deal was on the books, and it had already passed the House, but the Renee Good and Alex Pretti shooting changed everything.
Now House Democrats are considering blocking the spending bills that were agreed to in the Senate.
Had the Senate put the House bill on the floor right after it was passed, we would not be here right now.
The delay changed the entire landscape, but the Senate did manage to put together funding that would keep the government open.
While initially looking to block all DHS funding, Schumer agreed to fund the agency as is for two weeks, then debate changes to policy in the department.
The partial shutdown is now in its third day, but House Dems could be looking to block all funding and keep it closed.
Trump knows a prolonged shutdown will be a disaster, so he has more or less given Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) the green light to do whatever has to be done to get this legislation passed.
He posted to Truth Social, “I am working hard with Speaker Johnson to get the current funding deal, which passed in the Senate last week, through the House and to my desk, where I will sign it into Law, IMMEDIATELY!”
He continued, “We need to get the Government open, and I hope all Republicans and Democrats will join me in supporting this Bill, and send it to my desk WITHOUT DELAY. There can be NO CHANGES at this time.”
On Monday, Trump added, “We will work together in good faith to address the issues that have been raised, but we cannot have another long, pointless, and destructive Shutdown that will hurt our Country so badly — One that will not benefit Republicans or Democrats. I hope everyone will vote, YES!”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) has been using this as a bargaining chip because he knows there are a handful of Republicans who will not support the spending bill after the shootings.
He has the leverage right now, and he knows it, and I suspect Dems will be pressing hard to make big changes in DHS or refuse to fully fund the agency, possibly even blocking the two-week stopgap funding bill.
To that point, Jeffries stated, “But the one thing that we’ve said publicly is that we need a robust path toward dramatic reform” for DHS.
But that is not the only problem for Speaker Johnson, as some Republicans are insisting on voter ID laws to support the legislation. Johnson has little leeway here, so this is going to get very interesting if even a handful of Republicans resist. And even if they do agree to pass this legislation, DHS, as we know it, is likely over.
