The White House said it hopes that by sending border czar Tom Homan to Minneapolis Democrats will fund the government and thus avert a shutdown.
Homan, who was originally appointed by President Barack Obama, was sent to Minneapolis to help calm the situation in the city after the deadly shooting of Alex Pretti by Border Patrol agents on Saturday.
The killing caused many Democrats to vow not to fund the Department of Homeland Security as they seek to reform Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
If no funding agreement is reached by Friday, the government will shut down for the second time since October.
A White House official told Politico that Homan's attempt to "appease" Democrats is the only weapon the Trump administration has in this standoff.
There is no Plan B, the official warned Politico.
"It's all wait and see. I think a lot of it is determinative of what Homan comes back with ... in terms of reforms," the official said.
"If there's enough positive movement on that front, it can get congressional Democrats back to the table and sort of appease some of their concerns," the official added.
"There's a reason why the president picked him. It's because he's shown even in his past jobs, he's been able to do a lot of good outreach to people on both sides of the aisle," the official continued. "I think there's a lot of optimism with him there."
Democrats' reforms include new enforcement guidelines, mandates for body cameras and IDs, a uniform code of conduct, and a prohibition on federal agents wearing masks.
They have made clear that sending Homan to Minneapolis is not enough.
"Let me say that again, so the White House hears it: Until ICE is properly reined in and overhauled legislatively, the DHS funding bill doesn't have the votes to pass the Senate," said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Politico reported.
Another White House official said President Donald Trump is committed to avoiding a shutdown but blamed Democrats for the impasse.
"A demand for agreement on legislative reforms as a condition of funding the Department of Homeland Security with a government funding deadline just 48 hours away is a demand for a partial government shutdown," the official said.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told Politico he wants to see dialogue between the administration to advance DHS funding.
"I think the White House honestly is open to negotiation," he said.
Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.
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