Updated on: March 19, 2026 / 11:16 PM EDT / CBS News
Washington — A group of senators met with White House border czar Tom Homan on Thursday as negotiators continued to search for an agreement to reform Immigration and Customs Enforcement and end the shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security.
More than a month into the funding lapse, the meeting marked a key development after weeks of little visible progress. Democrats and the White House have exchanged proposals, but remain far apart.
“First step is dialogue, and this is the very first time that we have had that” in six weeks, Republican Sen. Katie Britt of Alabama said. She called the session a conversation rather than a negotiation and said “there is no guarantee of anything,” but added, “I think it was helpful.”
Senate Republicans have been urging member-level talks, while Democrats have said they needed assurances the administration was serious and expressed skepticism about whether talks with Senate Republicans would produce a breakthrough. According to a Democratic aide, Democrats at the meeting underscored the gap between their demands and what the White House has offered.
“I’m glad that the White House is talking with us, but they have a lot of work to do,” Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada said. “My colleagues and I are not going to vote for any deal that doesn’t include real reforms on warrants, masks, training, and our other demands.”
Tom Homan, White House border czar, departs following a meeting with lawmakers at the U.S. Capitol on March 19, 2026. Daniel Heuer / Bloomberg via Getty Images
Pressure has mounted to fund the many agencies DHS oversees, including TSA. Hundreds of TSA officers have quit in recent weeks as workers have gone without pay, and staffing shortfalls have contributed to chaos at airports. Democrats have sought to pass funding for individual agencies, but Republicans have blocked those efforts. Republicans have pushed to temporarily fund the entire DHS, which Democrats have also blocked.
The talks come as DHS leadership is changing after intense scrutiny of federal law enforcement actions following the killings of two U.S. citizens in Minnesota in January. GOP Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma is expected to be confirmed in the coming days as the new DHS secretary, replacing Kristi Noem. Homan was brought in to lead operations in Minnesota as Noem’s leadership faced bipartisan criticism.
Senate appropriators GOP Sen. Susan Collins of Maine and Democratic Sen. Patty Murray of Washington attended the meeting with Homan. Other appropriators present included GOP Sen. John Hoeven of North Dakota and Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire. Sens. Angus King, an independent from Maine, and Maggie Hassan, a New Hampshire Democrat, also participated; King, Hassan and Shaheen were involved in negotiations to end last fall’s government shutdown.
Leaving the private meeting, several senators declined comment. Hoeven told reporters “we made some progress,” while Murray said the sides remained a “long ways apart.”
The Senate is scheduled to begin a two-week recess at the end of next week. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a South Dakota Republican, said earlier Thursday that the impasse “needs to get resolved by the end of next week,” adding, “I can’t see us taking a break if the government’s still shut down.” Thune called the meeting a positive development and said he had encouraged such talks.
Homan said after the meeting that “we need to get the government back open.”
Nikole Killion, Alan He and Caitlin Huey-Burns contributed to this report.