Time for 'Plan B' as DHS talks drag ahead of funding deadline
Source: Roll Call
Posted February 11, 2026 at 8:33pm
Lawmakers made no apparent progress toward a deal Wednesday on an extension of Department of Homeland Security funding, and the Senate appears set to leave town Thursday despite the Feb. 13 deadline to avoid a partial shutdown of that agency. With both chambers on recess next week, the impasse means the department might be without a big chunk of its funding until at least the week of Feb. 23, unless there’s a breakthrough or leadership calls members back to Washington early.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said Wednesday that he wasn’t planning on keeping his chamber in town unless an agreement was close. “As soon as we can strike a deal, we’ll vote on it,” he said. “Until then, I don’t know if there is any point in keeping people around here, sitting around doing nothing. I think it’s important that the people at the negotiating table double down, sharpen their pencils and strike a deal.”
The White House is leading the negotiations with Democrats, who have made clear they will not vote for another stopgap extension of DHS funding without progress on an immigration enforcement deal that has not yet materialized. “If they don’t propose something that’s strong, that reins in [Immigration and Customs Enforcement], that ends the killing, don’t expect our votes,” Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., told reporters leaving the Capitol on Wednesday. He also said Republicans have yet to provide legislative text.
But with a continuing resolution the only alternative to a shutdown if they can’t reach a full-year deal in time, Republicans appear resigned to giving a CR a try.
Read more: https://rollcall.com/2026/02/11/time-for-plan-b-as-dhs-talks-drag-ahead-of-funding-deadline/
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