The White House announced on Friday that it has made a “serious counteroffer” to congressional Democrats with the goal of ending a two-week funding lapse impacting several Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agencies.
Senate Democrats blocked a House-passed DHS appropriations bill for the current fiscal year on February 13 after their demands for changes to immigration enforcement were not met.
Immigration enforcement operations, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection, remain fully funded under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. However, funding for other DHS components—including the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Coast Guard, Secret Service, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and Transportation Security Administration—has lapsed, leaving them operating without new appropriations.
Negotiations have stalled since the Senate failed to advance legislation restoring funding on Monday.
A White House official described the latest proposal as a “serious counteroffer” and stated that Democrats need to act quickly to end the shutdown before more Americans are harmed by the lack of funding for critical services such as disaster relief.
Spokespersons for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said in a joint statement that they have received and are reviewing the White House’s counteroffer.
The statement also emphasized that Democrats remain committed to pursuing meaningful reforms to curb ICE operations and address violence.
No legislative action is expected before midweek, as the Senate will reconvene on Monday and the House will begin voting on Wednesday.
Democrats have not publicly responded to the White House’s latest proposal. However, Schumer stated this week that Republicans have not made meaningful adjustments to their position during ongoing discussions. “They’re just passing paper back and forth without any real changes,” he said.
