Deal to avert shutdown held up over Homeland Security fight

Negotiations over the annual Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spending bill are at a standstill, with a bipartisan agreement to fund government departments and avert a government shutdown later this week.

The package, originally scheduled to be announced Sunday, would include five full-time funding bills covering the departments of Defense, Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and State, as well as the Internal Revenue Service, general government and foreign operations. was.

Congressional leaders also planned stopgap measures for DHS, seen as the toughest in a series of funding bills, as deep partisan divisions remain in Washington on border and immigration issues.

But the White House’s recent involvement in negotiations has delayed the package’s release schedule, Republicans say.

Part of the dispute is that Democrats are pushing for more funding for pay equity at the Transportation Security Administration, while Republicans are pushing for more funding for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention, according to people familiar with the matter. It is seeking more funding for enforcement activities.

Hill has reached out to the White House and Democratic Congressional leadership for comment.

The development followed statements from White House officials. he told Politico on Sunday. Republicans said they wanted to “underfund DHS” after rejecting a proposal from Democrats to provide $1.56 billion in additional funding for border security.

However, Raj Shah, chief of staff to Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louis.), denied the report on Sunday, saying, “This statement by an anonymous White House official is misleading and that “It would be counterproductive to reaching partisan consensus.” shutdown. “

“House Republicans continue to work in good faith to agree on a spending bill that reprioritizes DHS funding to enforce border and immigration laws,” Shah added.

Congress has until Friday to pass legislation to maintain funding for various branches of government or risk the first partial government shutdown in years.