President Donald Trump says he will be “not happy” to make any deal related to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding. Trump sent mixed signals regarding the ongoing deal emerging between Democrats and Republicans in the Senate.
“I’m going to look at it and we’re going to take a good hard look at it,” he said. “I want to support Republicans. Sometimes it’s awfully hard to get votes when you have Democrats that don’t want to have voter ID, they don’t want to have proof of citizenship. They don’t want to do anything about men playing in women’s sports.”
Commenting on the issue later in the press conference following Markwayne Mullin’s swearing in as Secretary of Homeland Security, he said, “I guess they’re getting fairly close but I think any deal they make, I’m pretty much not happy with it.”
Inquired about the trouble of Transportation Safety Authority staff, who remained unpaid during the partial shutdown of the DHS, Trump said: “Well, some of them are needing money, you know, because the Democrats cut off their money. I blame the Democrats more than anything else.”
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However, many employees are turning down work in a situation where the Trump administration has responded by deploying ICE representatives in airports to carry out normal functionality conducted by the TSA.
The deal discussed would fund DHS except for its agency for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which is charged with arresting and deporting undocumented immigrants. Senate Republicans sent Democrats a new proposal to end the partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security.
The proposal would asset DHS except for the part of ICE charged with arresting and deporting undocumented immigrants, according to three people familiar with the plan, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations.
But President Trump is refraining from committing to the potential compromise even though several Republican senators pitched him at the White House. “I don’t want to comment until I see the deal, but as you know, they’re negotiating a deal,” Trump told reporters Tuesday in the Oval Office. “I guess they’re getting fairly close. But I think any deal they make, I’m pretty much not happy with it.”
Trump took to his social media account on Truth Social to say that Republicans should not “make any deal” with Democrats. Trump focuses on supporting the voting bill known as the Save America Act, which Senate Democrats are unanimously rejecting.
The White House has been in talks with Democrats for over a month. However, both sides have not reached an agreement. This has amounted to long waits at security in many major airports. Trump has deployed ICE officers to airports in the hope of relieving Transportation Security Administration officers.
DHS covers Customs and Border Protection, TSA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other organizations, including ICE. The proposed deal would fund CBP, which looks after Border Patrol. This proposal would also resource part of ICE known as Homeland Security Investigations, which works on investigating drug smuggling and other crimes.