Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) told Fox Newsâ The Will Cain Show that he and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) developed a two-step plan to end the DHS shutdown.
Kennedy described the plan as: accept Democratsâ offer to reopen most of DHS, then pursue ICE funding separately through budget reconciliation (avoiding the 60-vote threshold).
Kennedy said Trump rejected the approach with a âno deals with the Democratsâ directive and claimed TSA could have been paid by the end of the week under the plan.
The Daily Beast report says Senate Majority Leader John Thune previously brought a similar âeverything but ICEâ proposal to Trump, which Trump also rejected.
The article reports Trump tied a DHS deal to passage of the SAVE Act/SAVE America Act (proof-of-citizenship voting bill), despite it lacking a clear 60-vote path in the Senate.
Reuters reporting cited in the article: on Sunday, more than 3,450 TSA officers (nearly 12% of the workforce) did not show up for work, and more than 400 TSA workers have quit since the shutdown began in mid-February.
Airport operational impacts cited include Atlantaâs Hartsfield-Jackson advising passengers to arrive four hours early and airport leaders warning Congress of escalating disruptions.
By late Monday, senators were reportedly back at the White House trying to salvage a framework that funds most of DHS (including TSA) while excluding ICEâs Enforcement and Removal Operations; some DHS components like CBP and HSI would remain funded with added guardrails.
The White House response quoted in the article did not address Kennedyâs account and instead blamed Democrats for ârecklesslyâ shutting down DHS and forcing TSA employees to work without pay.