Senate Republicans have made key concessions in the battle over funding the Department of Homeland Security ahead of an upcoming deadline looming at the end of this week.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced at a press conference Tuesday he is willing to allow a vote on a clean DHS bill that would fund the agency through the end of September prior to a vote planned for Friday on blocking the President’s executive orders on immigration. This appears to be meet a key demand from Senate Democrats to approve DHS funding before voting on the immigration issue.
The initial response from Senate minority leader Harry Reid and Democrats is skeptical. They want to make sure House Speaker Boehner is on board with this plan before it is voted on in the Senate. Reid said he hoped to speak to Boehner on Tuesday.
This development puts Boehner in a tenuous political position because House conservatives have insisted the DHS funding bill include limits on the immigration orders.
There’s no guarantee that these developments lead to avoiding a shut off as there are many procedural details to work out before the Friday deadline.
