House Democrats signaled Friday that Republicans have cut a deal with them to pass a Homeland Security funding measure next week that would last until Sept. 30.
But Republicans are denying it.
The deal, Democrats said, was made in exchange for Democratic votes in favor of a one-week extension of Homeland funding, which passed late Friday and averted a partial closure of the Department of Homeland Security.
In the hours before the final vote, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi urged fellow Democrats to vote for the one-week deal, telling them it would lead to the full funding measure they are seeking.
“Your vote tonight will assure that we will vote for full funding next week,” Pelosi said.
Pelosi aides would not comment on the nature of the talks that took place with Obama, or if she struck a deal with Boehner. But one top aide denied Democrats voted for the week-long deal at the request of the president.
“Not true,” Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill said on Twitter.
The week-long bill provides time for the Senate to vote on whether to hold a conference with the House on a Homeland spending provision that would curb President Obama’s executive actions on immigration.
Next week, Senate Democrats are all but guaranteed to block a motion to hold a conference with the House. When they do, it will create a dead end for Republican efforts to negotiate their way into a bill that is more palatable to conservatives who want to curb the president’s immigration directives.
Republicans would then presumably have no choice but to put a bill on the floor funding Homeland until Sept. 30 which would pass with full Democratic support but would anger House conservatives.
Republican leadership aides denied any promises were made to Democrats, who were also lobbied Friday evening by President Obama to pass the one-week measure.
“There was no such deal or promise,” Speaker John Boehner’s spokesman Michael Steel told the Washington Examiner.
House Democratic leaders were declaring victory, though.
“Tonight I voted for a seven-day continuing resolution to keep the Department of Homeland Security open to allow time for the House to pass the Senate’s full-year funding bill next week,” House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said.
