Trump is tying a deal to reopen DHS to pass the SAVE America Act, urging Republicans to ‘kill the filibuster and stay in DC by Easter’.
President Trump said Sunday evening that he is not interested in any deal to reopen the Department of Homeland Security that does not include passing the SAVE America Act to strengthen voting requirements in federal elections.
“I don’t think we should make a deal with Crazy, Country Destroying, Radical Left Democrats unless, and until, they vote with Republicans to pass the ‘SAVE AMERICA ACT,'” the president wrote on Truth Social.
“It’s more important than anything else we do in the Senate, and that includes giving these bad guys, the Dems (who you see as responsible for this mess!), a Five Billion Dollar cut in ICE funding, a deal that, even if considered otherwise, is unacceptable to me and the American people – EXCEPT including their approval of the Vote, (Voting ID), (Voting ID) exception), All Paper Ballots, No Males In Women’s Sports, and No Transgender Connections [sic] for our precious children … In other words, put everything together, and VOTE!!! “
With the House and Senate set to leave DC later this week for the Passover and Easter holidays, Trump urged Senate Republicans to skip the 60-vote legislature and “stay in DC for Easter, if necessary.”
Trump, 79, spoke as Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents will be sent to about a dozen airports across the United States to assist Transportation Security Administration agents who have been working without pay since the DHS shutdown began on February 14.
In a brief phone interview with NewsNation on Sunday afternoon, Trump said he was willing to keep ICE agents at US airports “as long as it takes.”
“Now that I’ve done this, Democrats want to make a deal,” said columnist Hannah Brandt. “And I don’t think there should be a deal on this until they approve SAVE America. OK?
Talks continue on Capitol Hill to try to strike a deal to reopen DHS and prevent the shutdown from going past the two-month mark, but little progress was made before Trump’s comments on Sunday.
“We’ll see if they can get something,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) told Politico on Sunday morning. “I think the clock is ticking. If we’re going to do this, we’ve got to get out of here fast.”
On the House side, Republican leadership plans to hold at least one vote to reopen DHS this week, but they have made no plans to end their recess to await any potential deal.
