‘Back To Square One’: Sen. Kennedy Dumps Cold Water On Reports Of DHS Shutdown Deal

Republican Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy said on Wednesday that a deal to restore some funding to the Department of Homeland Security appears unlikely despite earlier reports of a breakthrough.

A Monday night meeting between Senate Republicans and President Donald Trump focused on funding all DHS agencies except Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which would instead be addressed in a separate reconciliation bill — a plan Trump first turned down on Sunday. On CNN’s “The Situation Room” Wednesday, Kennedy said reports that Trump came around on the idea were wrong. “He’s not for it,” Kennedy told Wolf Blitzer, calling it just one of several major obstacles preventing a deal.

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“Solving this problem through reconciliation, it’s clear to me it’s going to be very, very difficult. I got up this morning about 5:00. I can read, I can watch TV, I watch the news … Number one, the president is against it,” Kennedy said. “I haven’t been in meetings with the president. I was told that he was for it. One senator told me he was even enthusiastic. That’s not accurate. He’s not for it.”

“Number two, our majority leader is everything. Whoever the majority leader is controls the floor. And based on the comments I’ve read this morning, our majority leader is not really for it,” he added. “Number three, my Republican colleagues who are leading the talking filibuster clearly want to continue the talking filibuster, as is their right.”

Moreover, Kennedy said Senate Minority Leader