Are Republicans ready to cave on DHS funding?
For the better part of the past month, the Senate has been tied down in a debate over funding for the Department of Homeland Security and deportation deferral program that the president announced in November. As you may recall, during the lame duck session, Congress passed a budget that fully funded virtually the entire federal government through the end of the fiscal year in September. The budget for the Department of Homeland Security, however, was only funded through the end of February. At the time, the move was seen as an opportunity for the newly elected Republican Congress to make some kind of statement about the president鈥檚 executive action. In January, the House passed a bill that purported to fund DHS in all respects except for those directly tied to the deportation relief program. For the past month, though, that bill has been tied up in the Senate due to what continues to be a successful Democratic filibuster effort. With the fourth failed cloture vote Monday night,聽
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell took steps Monday to prevent a shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security by splitting off legislation attacking President Obama鈥檚 immigration actions from the funding fight.
The Kentucky Republican is seeking to fast-track legislation to eliminate two new immigration programs launched by Obama late last year, while allowing a 2012 initiative targeting younger immigrants to continue as designed.
McConnell鈥檚 move sets the stage for separate votes on a measure to fund the Homeland Security Department (DHS) past Friday and to dismantle Obama鈥檚 unilateral efforts to shield millions of illegal immigrants from deportation.
A House-passed proposal combining those two efforts had hit a wall in the Senate, where Democrats on Monday united for a fourth time this month to block the measure over their opposition to the provisions undoing Obama鈥檚 executive actions.
The DHS will suffer a partial shutdown if Congress doesn鈥檛 act before Saturday.
McConnell said he wanted to take away Democrats鈥� excuse for not voting against Obama鈥檚 2014 actions, which several centrist Democrats had previously criticized.
鈥淪ome Democrats give the impression they want Congress to address the overreach. But when they vote, they always seem to have an excuse for supporting actions they once criticized,鈥� he said on the floor. 鈥淪o I鈥檓 going to begin proceedings on targeted legislation that would only address the most recent overreach from November.
鈥淚t isn鈥檛 tied to DHS funding. It removes their excuse,鈥� he added.
McConnell鈥檚 decision could mark a step forward from the stalemate over the funding debate, which had left GOP leaders of both chambers struggling for a way to prevent an agency shutdown while appeasing conservatives insisting the immigration riders be a part of the package.
It remains unclear how the strategy will be received by House conservatives, but the office of Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) was quick to indicate its support.
鈥淭his vote will highlight the irresponsible hypocrisy of any Senate Democrat who claims to oppose President Obama鈥檚 executive overreach on immigration, but refuses to vote to stop it,鈥� Boehner spokesman Michael Steel said in a statement. 鈥淚f we are going to work together on the American peoples priorities, Washington Democrats must be honest with the people they represent.鈥�
Democrats quickly criticized McConnell鈥檚 decision, saying it won鈥檛 help prevent a shutdown of DHS.
鈥淚t鈥檚 becoming clear Senator McConnell realizes he must separate himself from the far right, but the bottom line is this proposal doesn鈥檛 bring us any closer to actually funding DHS, and Republicans still have no real plan to achieve that goal,鈥� Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in a statement.
He added that any immigration debate should happen after lawmakers pass a bill to fund Homeland Security.
McConnell鈥檚 move sets up what is sure to be an animated meeting of House Republicans on Wednesday morning, where Boehner and other GOP leaders are certain to get an earful from conservatives insisting the immigration provisions remain attached to the Homeland Security bill and centrists leaning toward a cleaner bill for the sake of keeping the agency up and running.
Boehner had been adamant that the ball remain in the Senate鈥檚 court after the House last month passed a $40 billion funding proposal that included several amendments undoing Obama鈥檚 unilateral efforts to shield millions of illegal immigrants from deportation.
McConnell, meanwhile, had said he was 鈥渟tuck鈥� in the face of Democrats insisting on a clean bill absent the immigration amendments. Monday鈥檚 47-46 vote was designed to drive home that point.
McConnell鈥檚 rhetoric makes it seems like he thinks that he鈥檚 trapped Democrats who have been unwilling to take a stand on the president鈥檚 deferred deportation program, and that鈥檚 how the聽National Journal聽characterizes is, but it seems clear to me that this is nothing short of a recognition by McConnell that the shutdown strategy has failed. As in previous cases, Republicans have obviously hoped that the threat of a shutdown at DHS would force Democrats to cave in and allow a DHS bill that 鈥渄efunded鈥� the president鈥檚 deportation relief program to pass the Senate. The recent ruling by a federal judge in Texas striking down the program has no doubt given them some degree of hope, notwithstanding the fact that another federal judge in Washington, D.C. has ruled completely differently. In the end, though, it鈥檚 obvious that neither party wants to get to the point where it鈥檚 the end of the day on Friday and there hasn鈥檛 been a budget passed for the Department of Homeland Security. The question has always been which party which blink first. For the moment at least, it appears that the Republicans are ones getting ready to cave in. If McConnell鈥檚 proposal passes, then we鈥檒l see the budget for DHS approved in full, including that portion covering the deferred deportation program. The second bill purporting to repeal the president鈥檚 program, even if it did pass the House and Senate, would quite obviously be vetoed and that veto would not be overridden. In the end, it would be a purely symbolic vote.
The big question, of course, is whether or not this will go over well with the House Republicans, who would have to pass a new DHS funding bill for this to go to the Senate. The initial comments regarding McConnell鈥檚 plan from House Speaker John Boehner have been muted, but seemingly positive, but the real test will come today when the House Republican caucus holds its weekly meeting. That will be the first initial test of how things are likely to go in the House if this plan goes forward, and it will likely lead to Boehner and the rest of the leadership having to once again make a choice between keeping the government running and appeasing the right wing of their caucus. Given the fact that funding runs out in two days, there isn鈥檛 much time for them to decide.
Doug Mataconis appears on the Outside the Beltway blog at http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/.
