Congress is on recess as the Department of Homeland Security inches even closer toward shutting down.
Lawmakers last week left Washington still deadlocked on a bill that would fund the department: Republicans are vying to wipe out President Obama’s executive actions on immigration, prompting Democrats to take to the steps of Capitol Hill last Friday and demand that the bill remains clean.
“Republicans must stop holding our homeland security hostage to their anti-immigrant grandstanding, and honor our sacred oath we all take to support and defend the Constitution and the American people,” Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said.
Although the Republicans’ bill passed the House, it remains trapped in the Senate, with some House Republicans going as far as to seek a change in Senate rules—a so-called “nuclear option” that would allow the bill to pass without the 60-vote threshold.
House Speaker John Boehner pushed blame back toward Senate Democrats in an interview on Fox News on Sunday, saying, “The House has done its job under the Constitution, it’s time for the Senate to do their job.”
On the other side of the aisle, Democrats say that it is differences among House and Senate Republicans that is causing the holdup.
On msnbc Monday, National Journal reporter Lauren Fox said both parties may seek a temporary solution in order to extend the deadline to pass a bill. “They may do some sort of short term continuing resolution to continue to fund this, and kind of punt it down the road for another few weeks, so that House Republicans and Senate Republicans can work out their differences here,” Fox said.
When Congress returns to DC next week, they will have four days to reach an agreement.
Zach Blanchard