Republicans balk at Senate Democrats’ DHS shutdown counteroffer

Republicans on Wednesday balked at a Democratic counteroffer to reopen the Department of Homeland Security, as lawmakers and the White House scramble to strike a deal before a scheduled two-week recess begins on Friday ahead of a busy U.S. travel week for spring breaks and the Easter holiday.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters on Wednesday there was “no point” in Republicans issuing another response to Democrats’ counter and said the Senate would vote later that day on the GOP proposal unveiled earlier this week.

“It’s not even close to being real,” Thune said of the counteroffer. “They know better. They’re asking for things that have already been turned down. So it just seems like they’re going in circles, spinning, spinning.”

The White House criticized Democrats for their role in the negotiations.

“It’s laughable that Democrats are now demanding more reforms to an agency they still refuse to fund,” a White House official via email on Wednesday, speaking on condition of anonymity. “This latest stunt from the Democrats proves they are not interested in a serious conversation and they don’t care they their shutdown is hurting Americans.”

The back-and-forth between Republicans and Democrats means a potential deal before the weekend is far from certain. Optimism at the start of the week began to evaporate by Wednesday, with airport security lines long and lawmakers seemingly at an impasse.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Wednesday morning from the Senate floor that Democrats were looking for a solution. He called a recent offer from Republicans “bad faith” and announced a counter.

“Our offer is a reasonable, good faith proposal that contains some of the very same asks Democrats have been talking about now for months,” Schumer said.

Schumer did not list out the specific points of his proposal, but Democrats have for months sought changes to the immigration enforcement practices of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Those changes include a requirement for judicial warrants for federal agents to enter private property and banning the use of masks.

“We have now given Republicans our response, and it’s a serious offer. And time is of the essence I’d say to my Republican colleagues,” Schumer said. “The Easter holiday is coming, families are going on spring break. TSA lines are literally stretching out the door of airports.”

The counter comes after Senate Republicans and the White House unveiled a proposal earlier this week to fund much of the agency while withholding money for Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s enforcement and removal operations.

Democrats bristled at the proposal because it did not include any of the ICE changes they have demanded. Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, a moderate who caucuses with Democrats and who has voted with Republicans on government funding, said he was still a “no” on Wednesday. King called the GOP proposal “illusory,” because it would still fund ICE’s…