The DHS Shutdown Twist No One Expected w/ Ali Vitali

MSNOW's Ali Vitali joins Molly Jong-Fast to break down a chaotic attempt by Congress to end a prolonged Homeland Security funding lapse while leaving ICE and border enforcement funding out of the immediate package, a move that echoes the same standoff that began more than a month earlier and now strips Democrats of leverage to negotiate new guardrails like identification requirements, mask restrictions, or body cameras for immigration enforcement. Vitali explains how Senate Republicans advanced the deal partly because ICE funding was already flowing through other mechanisms, while the House faced procedural hurdles and internal vote-counting challenges that could delay action, even as unpaid TSA workers and airport disruptions increased public pressure. The conversation also tracks Donald Trump’s shifting posture—torpedoing an earlier agreement, demanding the SAVE Act, and then trying to claim credit via an executive action to pay TSA workers despite Congress holding the power of the purse—alongside the broader political risk for Republicans as voters tend to blame the party in power for dysfunction. Finally, Vitali previews the next major fight: another reconciliation package likely to include contentious items like billions for the Iran conflict and potential attempts to attach election-related provisions, setting up fresh intra-party fractures in razor-thin majorities where individual lawmakers can force concessions.

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