White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt sharply criticized Senate Democrats on Wednesday, calling their latest counterproposal to fund the Department of Homeland Security “unserious” as the agency remains shuttered for nearly a week.
Speaking during the daily White House press briefing, Leavitt said Democrats had sent over a counteroffer Tuesday night that failed to meaningfully address the situation.
“Last night, they sent over a counterproposal that frankly was very unserious, and we hope they get serious very soon because Americans are going to be impacted,” Leavitt said.
The shutdown of DHS has dragged on amid tense negotiations between the White House and Senate Democrats. Public details of the back-and-forth remain limited, but both sides have openly traded criticism as the impasse continues.
Leavitt placed the blame squarely on Democrats.
“Democrats are the reason that the Department of Homeland Security is currently shut down,” she said from the briefing room podium. “They have chosen to act against the American people for political reasons and now we have FEMA workers, the men and women of the United States Coast Guard, the men and women of TSA, who keep our airports moving, who will be working without paychecks for no good reason other than the Democrats wanting to pick a fight with Donald Trump.”
She added that President Trump views the situation as “irresponsible and despicable” and emphasized that he wants the government reopened. “He wants the government to be open. We’ve been engaged in good-faith negotiations with Democrats,” she said.
According to Leavitt, while she is not aware of any direct conversations between President Trump and Democratic leaders, the White House and the president’s representatives have been in contact with both Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill in an effort to break the stalemate.
Democrats previously sent the White House a 10-point plan on Feb. 4 outlining their demands. Among the provisions were calls to tighten warrant requirements, unmask agents engaged in field operations, and end roving patrols. That proposal was formally sent to Republicans in legislative text form on Feb. 7.
Days later, the White House put forward its own proposal, hoping it would persuade Democrats to support a temporary stopgap measure to keep DHS operating while negotiations toward a broader agreement continued. However, that effort failed to gain Democratic support.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., dismissed the White House’s offer as “not serious,” further escalating tensions between the two sides.
As the standoff drags on, critical DHS personnel — including FEMA employees, Coast Guard members, and Transportation Security Administration officers — remain on the job without pay. The White House argues that Democrats are holding essential national security and emergency response functions hostage for political leverage.
With both sides accusing the other of failing to negotiate in good faith, the shutdown shows no immediate signs of resolution. The administration maintains that it is working toward a solution, but insists Democrats must “get serious” before the department can reopen and workers can receive their paychecks.
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