Bill Melugin on the senate vote ...
Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) ~ Because Senate Democrats didn’t end up accepting the Republican offer on DHS funding & negotiations fell apart yesterday, Dems will get *zero* of the ICE reforms they had been demanding, including ones that GOP had already agreed to, like showing ID, increased Congressional oversight, agreements to not hit sensitive locations, etc.
These reforms were the reason Dems started the shutdown in the first place, and now instead of getting a few concessions on their demand list, they get none.
The only thing they secured was no funding for CBP & ICE, which are largely already funded via the OBBB, and Republicans will seek to fund them even further without Dem votes in reconciliation instead.
As for the Dem’s demand list on ICE reforms?
“That ship has sailed,” Sen. Majority Leader John Thune said this morning. “They kissed that opportunity goodbye by failing to provide funding for those agencies.”
So basically, ICE is still funded and they will be to 2029. In the meantime, Democrats have lost any leverage they may have had to put new restrictions on ICE; not to mention ICE funding can likely be passed via reconciliation when Republicans only need 51 votes.
And of course, Democrats and the media are thumping their chests and insisting they won.
They did not.
Ship Has SAILED: Bill Melugin Explains How Democrats Lost AGAIN With Senate Passing Partial DHS Funding
http://twitchy.com/samj/2026/03/27/this-bill-melugin-explains-how-democrats-lost-again-with-senate-passing-partial-dhs-funding-n2426516
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