Republicans want President Donald Trump to use the first State of the Union address of his second term to make the case that Democrats, not the White House, are to blame for a drawn-out shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security.
Trump will return to the Capitol next Tuesday for a prime-time address overshadowed by the funding stalemate, centered on Democratic demands for reform after immigration officers fatally shot two protesters in Minneapolis.
There had been some speculation over whether the address would be postponed, as Democrats pressed for in 2019, the last time Trump prepared to address lawmakers during a partial shutdown. But Republicans, now in full control of Washington, hope to capitalize on the occasion with a speech that will be broadcast to tens of millions of voters and have no plans to reschedule it, according to a GOP leadership aide.
“The Dems shouldn’t be able to drive SOTU timing. The President should address the shutdown,” Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) told the Washington Examiner.
“The Democrats caused it. They could end it. And Trump’s going to wear them out as he should,” added Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN).
SENATE DEMOCRATS WEIGH SKIPPING TRUMP STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS
The more aggressive posture is a sign of how much the politics have changed since Renee Good and Alex Pretti were killed in Minneapolis last month, sparking new rounds of protests and a nationwide debate over whether immigration enforcement had gone too far under Trump.
The polling is still unfavorable for the administration, with 60% of voters disagreeing with the deployment of immigration agents to U.S. cities in a new Associated Press survey. But Republicans believe they have largely weathered the fallout and want to see Trump use the speech, set to take place 11 days into the shutdown, to reclaim an issue that has traditionally been their strong suit.
In recent days, Republicans have framed Democrats’ demands, including tighter warrant requirements and stricter use-of-force standards, as making it “impossible” for law enforcement officers to do their jobs. At the same time, they are blaming the surge of immigration raids on the refusal of “sanctuary” states, such as Minnesota, to cooperate with federal authorities.
“It gives Trump the bully pulpit to talk about it and frame it his own way,” one Senate GOP aide said of the State of the Union address, requesting anonymity to speak candidly.
Democrats say the reforms they are seeking are essentially no different than the ones practiced by police departments across the country and that the debate Trump wants to have on immigration is really about an unlawful agency gone “rogue.”
They are also reading the same polling as the White House and know that Trump is navigating the issue with his approval ratings at new lows.
“I believe they’ll have no choice but to go along with us,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said Sunday of the proposed reforms. “They’re losing support every day by not supporting these commonsense proposals.”
That dynamic has brought the White House to the negotiating table with congressional Democrats, who sent Trump their latest reform offer over the weekend. But Republicans also feel they are on firmer political ground than Democrats assume, and that using DHS as leverage is a losing issue.
Bacon noted that immigration enforcement will remain largely funded for the duration of the shutdown due to money set aside in Trump’s tax law, but that air traffic controllers and some members of the military will go without a paycheck.
“Our TSA and Coast Guard deserve better,” said Bacon.
Democrats have not entirely ruled out the possibility that a compromise on DHS could be worked out before the State of the Union. Asked about holding the event in the middle of a shutdown, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) told CBS News, “We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.”
The two sides are still far apart, however, as the Trump administration rules out the sort of “dramatic” reforms Jeffries says are necessary to bring along Democratic votes. Both chambers are on recess this week and won’t return until Monday, one day before the address.
Democrats will have their share of counterprogramming on the night of the speech, including a video rebuttal delivered each year by an up-and-coming party member. The State of the Union has also been plagued recently by disruptions, protest signs, and walk-outs.
For that reason, the shutdown could become a distraction for an administration that wants to highlight the successes of Trump’s first year in office, not a failure to fund the government.
Republicans also see a risk that Trump goes too negative or gets sidetracked by political grievances.
Still, Republicans believe Trump is in a better place on immigration than he was a month ago and can safely challenge Democrats on the issue. He faced bipartisan backlash in the aftermath of the shootings, including GOP calls for an independent investigation, but has eased those concerns with a series of olive branches to local officials in Minnesota.
Most recently, border czar Tom Homan announced that the administration would be drawing down its surge of agents from Minneapolis.
“Dems don’t want to concede this point, but the admin has taken a lot of tangible de-escalatory steps that have already changed the narrative,” said the Senate GOP aide.
The fight over DHS is the latest in a spending saga that has triggered three shutdowns since Trump returned to the Oval Office, including a 43-day lapse in government funding last fall centered on Obamacare.
WHAT REPUBLICANS DO – AND DON’T – WANT TO HEAR FROM TRUMP AT STATE OF THE UNION
Trump says he has no qualms about delivering his State of the Union in the midst of a partial shutdown, telling reporters aboard Air Force One on Monday, “It wouldn’t bother me.”
In 2019, Trump delivered his State of the Union soon after relenting on his demand for billions in new border wall funding, which at the time sparked the longest shutdown on record.
