Lawmakers have yet to reach an agreement to fund the Department of Homeland Security, threatening a potential midnight shutdown of the department that would include worker furloughs.
The dysfunction that has become all too familiar on Capitol Hill was on full display today as the House failed to secure enough votes to pass a short-term funding bill that would keep the department open for three weeks.
The last-minute strategy proposed by House Republicans failed with a vote of 203 to 224. Fifty-two Republicans opposed the measure while 12 Democrats supported it. The House could hold another vote in the final hours before funding expires.
President Obama held a meeting in the Oval Office late Friday with DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson and OMB Director Shaun Donvan to discuss the potential shutdown, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said. The president personally phone House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid to receive an update on the situation.
The evening’s drama rounds out months of fighting between Democrats and Republicans over the funding. Republicans have wanted to link any funding for the department to immigration. Earlier this month, the House passed a bill that would fund the department through the end of the fiscal year while also blocking President Obama’s recent executive actions on immigration.
But Democrats have opposed that plan, instead pushing for a clean funding bill. Earlier in the day, the Senate passed a clean funding measure with a vote of 68 to 31 to fund the Department of Homeland Security through Sept. 30.
“We passed a full-year funding for the Department of Homeland Security,” Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., said. “It means we did our job so that those men and women working in every agency can do their job to protect America. The Senate has done its job. Now, the House has to do its job.”
House Republicans have not decided whether they will take up that measure, but it could be one solution to keep the department open as the clock ticks toward a shutdown. The House could also consider a short-term continuing resolution to keep the department open for a week or less. It is expected that if the House passes a short-term measure, the Senate would agree to it.
If lawmakers are unable to secure a deal by midnight, the Department of Homeland Security would furlough approximately 40,000 workers. But 80 percent of its 240,000-person workforce would be required to work without pay. This figure includes 40,000 Customs and Border Protection officers, 5,000 Transportation Security Administration security screeners, and 13,000 Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
ABC News' John Parkinson contributed to this report.
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