President Donald Trump reportedly turned down a proposal by Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) on Sunday to end the partial government shutdown that has caused chaos at airports across the country. Thune’s proposal would have had Senate Republicans vote to fund all of the Department of Homeland Security except for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to Punchbowl News.
Thune said funding for ICE could be approved in a later reconciliation bill, but, according to Punchbowl’s report, Trump rejected the idea and also threatened to publicly call out GOP senators if they left Washington, D.C., for the upcoming recess without having passed DHS funding and his SAVE America Act, a sweeping bill that would require people to show proof of citizenship when registering to vote, among other things.
Trump added that he is planning to host Republican senators and their families for Easter Dinner at the White House — but some members saw the president’s invitation as a threat rather than a reward, the report states.
In a post on his Truth Social platform on Sunday evening, Trump made it clear that Republicans shouldn’t strike a deal with Democrats unless they vote to pass his SAVE America Act. He also urged Thune to name the GOP senators who are opposed to that bill.
