Deal to end DHS shutdown may be within reach, key senators say

WASHINGTON – There's new optimism on Capitol Hill that a deal to end the nearly six-week-long shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security may be in reach before Congress goes on spring break, potentially ending widespread airport tumult as millions of Americans gear up to travel.

Republican lawmakers emerged from a March 24 meeting with President Donald Trump saying negotiations were gaining serious momentum for the first time in more than a month. The president continued to express concerns about a deal, though, saying during a March 24 Oval Office event that he won't be happy with "pretty much" anything lawmakers negotiate.

The apparent progress comes as airport security lines across the country have reached a seemingly untenable tipping point. Hundreds of temporarily unpaid Transportation Security Administration workers have fully resigned, many more are calling out daily and immigration officers have been deployed to alleviate the situation.

Sen. Katie Britt, an Alabama Republican who chairs a Senate subcommittee overseeing DHS funding, has been spearheading negotiations. After sitting down at the White House with the president, she told reporters an agreement appeared to be on the horizon and Republicans were working to solidify the details.

The tentative agreement is likely to include funding for all of DHS, including TSA, but exclude Immigration and Customs Enforcement's removal and enforcement operations, according to a person familiar with the talks.

GOP lawmakers have discussed how additional money for ICE, potentially coupled with some election reforms, could later be approved by passing another budget law later this year through a process called reconciliation. Such bills only require a simple majority vote in the Senate: that's how Congress approved the so-called "One Big, Beautiful Bill Act" last year.

Talking to reporters outside the Senate chamber on March 24, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-South Dakota, confirmed that the proposed path forward could involve identifying portions of the SAVE America Act, a voting restrictions bill that Trump has said is his highest priority ahead of the midterm elections (but that has little chance of realistically passing the Senate) through reconciliation.

The shutdown deal is still in flux. Democrats have said they need to see the specifics outlined in legislative text.

Asked March 24 if he would sign a deal worked out between Senate Republicans and Democrats, Trump said: "I don't want to comment until I see the deal."

"But as you know they're negotiating a deal, I guess they're getting fairly close, but I think any deal they make I'm pretty much not happy with it," added Trump, who lashed out at Democrats over the funding lapse.

With intensifying airport chaos, the nascent agreement would be a quick U-turn for Trump. USA TODAY previously reported he told Thune on March 22 that he wouldn't be open to only partially funding DHS. He also originally linked ending the shutdown to fully passing the SAVE America Act.

"I talked to Senator Thune last night and he says the president has reconsidered and may be on board," Sen. John Kennedy, R-Louisiana, said March 24 on Fox News.

Kennedy said he and Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz initially pitched the idea within the Senate GOP conference to punt ICE funding to a reconciliation bill. Another high-stakes budget battle has been looming for weeks as the Trump administration looks for a way to approve a cash influx for the Pentagon amid the Iran war.

A White House official told USA TODAY that while conversations are ongoing, the deal seems acceptable.

However, some hardline conservatives are already throwing cold water on the off-ramp, concerned it could ease up political pressure on the Senate to pass the SAVE America Act, since provisions in reconciliation laws must have a clear impact on the federal budget.

"It’s hard to imagine how the SAVE America Act could be passed through reconciliation," Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, wrote on social media on March 24. "And by 'hard' I mean 'essentially impossible.'"

A document already circulating among lawmakers, and viewed by USA TODAY, outlines several ways GOP lawmakers might try to implement that strategy. It includes proposals to incentivize states, through grants, to verify voter registration data with the federal government. The document also includes suggestions about tying funding to voter ID and proof of citizenship requirements.

Whether such ideas could ultimately survive the Senate's strict budget rules remains far from clear.

Contributing: Zac Anderson, USA TODAY

This story has been updated to add new information.

Zachary Schermele is a congressional reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach him by email at [email protected]. Follow him on X at @ZachSchermele and Bluesky at @zachschermele.bsky.social.