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Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs and the rise of his ‘criminal enterprise’
The most honest thing Sean Combs may have ever done was name his record label “Bad Boy.”
Although 54-year-old Combs – aka Puff Daddy, aka Puffy, aka P. Diddy, Diddy and Love – has been orchestrating a lot more than just braggadocious “bad” behavior during the intervening decades, according to a federal indictment unsealed Tuesday. Instead, it charges, he’s been the veritable architect and leader of a “criminal enterprise” engaged in alleged arson, kidnapping, forced labor, bribery, obstruction of justice and sex trafficking.
It was that final accusation, laid out not in federal charging papers but in a series of damning lawsuits last year, that first revealed the growing cracks in the veneer of Combs’ carefully-curated reputation. He strenuously denied all wrongdoing. But the filings were quickly followed by a bicoastal raid on his properties amid a tight-lipped federal investigation, then the leaking of a violent video showing Diddy’s brutal beating at a hotel of then-girlfriend Cassie– the most high-profile victim to sue him.
The footage was proof that his denials had been false all along. Combs tried a weak filmed mea culpa and apologized on Instagram, staying largely and uncharacteristically out of public view despite a few other presumed attempts at reputation rehab: two lukewarm family-centric posts on the same social media platform amid occasional statements from lawyers.
Those efforts did nothing to stem the tide of public embarrassments. Howard University revoked the honorary degree of which he’d been so proud. The mayor of New York asked Combs to return the key to the city. Even Miami Beach canceled its annual Sean Diddy Combs Day.
And now, exactly three years after Combs applauded the MeToo movement in a September 2021 magazine profile – and just one year after performing a medley of his hits to accept the Global Icon Award at the VMAs – he’s been arrested for a litany of jaw-dropping alleged offenses that include violent crimes against women. He was taken into custody in the lobby of a Manhattan hotel, a five-star setting in the city whose high society he presided over for years.
Federal prosecutors on Tuesday were pushing in court for detainment until trial – the prospect of drab prison scrubs a world away from Diddy’s years of flashy fashion and his legendary Labor Day Hamptons White Parties.
Everything that’s happening with Diddy right now, however, is a far cry from the teflon career he crafted for himself; he’s previously dodged prison time for charges related to everything from illegal gun possession to fatal concert stampedes. But the Combs depicted in the indictment – one who “abused, threatened and coerced … to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation and conceal his conduct” – may have a harder time wriggling away from the long grasp of the law.
His public fame began muting last November, when three separate women filed lawsuits against Combs in a single week, some of the allegations dating back decades. The actions were taken before the expiration of New York’s Adult Survivors Act, which provided a one-year window for the pursuit of litigation, regardless of when the abuse occurred.
Most shocking were the allegations made by his former partner of a decade, singer Casandra Ventura, known professionally as Cassie and almost 20 years Combs’ junior. The couple were in a high-profile relationship for years until their 2018 breakup sparked a frenzy of headlines and gossip.
Combs settled the suit within a day – but not before the publication of Cassie’s staggering allegations. Among them, the suit claimed that Combs had raped her “in her own home after she tried to leave him; Often punched, beat, kicked and stomped on Ms. Ventura, resulting in bruises, burst lips, black eyes and bleeding;” and introduced her “to a lifestyle of excessive alcohol and substance abuse and required her to procure illicit prescriptions to satisfy his own addictions.”
But that was just the tip of the iceberg. Cassie’s lawsuit shockingly claims Combs had another rapper’s car blown up after learning the musician was romantically interested in Cassie; forced her to engage in sex acts with male sex workers in sessions he called “freak offs” while masturbating and filming the encounters; and demanded she “carry his firearm in her purse just to make her uncomfortable and demonstrate how dangerous he is.”
Despite the settlement, Combs denied all wrongdoing outlined in Cassie’s filings and within the other lawsuits – though his legal woes were far from over.
In February, former employee Rodney ‘Lil Rod’ Jones filed a suit accusing Combs of sexual harassment and threats. Weeks later, federal agents raided Combs’ homes in Los Angeles and Miami — he wasn’t at home at the time, although his sons were.
Homeland Security Investigations New York said the March raid was part of an ongoing investigation but did not elaborate at the time; the mogul’s lawyers called the raids a “gross overuse of military level force.”
Tuesday’s indictment, however, revealed some of what authorities recovered in those raids: narcotics, three AR-15s with “defaced serial numbers,” ammunition, a drum magazine” and evidence aligning with the “freak offs” so graphically outlined in Cassie’s lawsuit.
Also recovered were “more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant,” according to the indictment, which alleges that Combs “subjected victims to physical, emotional, and verbal abuse to cause the victims to engage in Freak Offs.
“Combs maintained control over his victims through, among other things, physical violence, promises of career opportunities, granting and threatening to withhold financial support, and by other coercive means, including tracking their whereabouts, dictating the victims’ appearance, monitoring their medical records, controlling their housing, and supplying them with controlled substances.”
The day after the raid, authorities arrested a 25-year-old former college basketball player, Brendan Paul, who’d been named in ‘Lil Rod’ Jones’ court filings as an alleged drug mule for the superstar.
Then, in May, CNN published CCTV footage that it had obtained from March 2016 showing Combs chasinge Cassie down the corridor of a Los Angeles hotel before punching and kicking her near the elevators.
When confronted with that evidence, Combs finally apologized – calling his behavior “inexcusable” in a social media post, claiming to take “full responsibility for his actions in the video” and asking “God for his mercy and grace.” He said he sought professional help and went to therapy and rehab in the aftermath of the 2016 incident.
“It’s so difficult to reflect on the darkest times in your life, but sometimes you got to do that,” he said in a social media post. ”I was f***ed up – I hit rock bottom – but I make no excuses. My behavior on that video is inexcusable.”
Combs had already stepped down as chairman of his television company, Revolt, but the violent footage was sounding the death knell for some other feathers in his cap. The month after its release, Howard University – the historic black institution he’d attended before dropping out to pursue his music career – revoked the honorary degree it conferred ten years earlier, also returning Diddy’s donation money and disbanding a scholarship program in his name.
A decade after a humbled Combs stood proudly on the Howard graduation stage, accepting the degree in front of friends and family, the school issued a statement calling his behavior in the video “so fundamentally incompatible with Howard University’s core values and beliefs that he is deemed no longer worthy to hold the institution’s highest honor.”
The same month, New York City Mayor Eric Adams asked Combs to return the keys to the city and rescinded the honor he’d bestowed not even one year earlier, in September 2023, around the same time the singer performed at the VMAs and released his latest studio album.
The mayor and city commission of Miami Beach also in June 2024 revoked honors and recognition – canceling Sean Diddy Combs Day, which had been implemented on October 13 eight years earlier by the city’s then-mayor. They determined the designation was “no longer in harmony with the City’s values of safety, community well-being, and respect.”
Combs himself was laying low throughout all of this. He was pictured looking stone-faced near his Florida home in the weeks after the March raid, but his most well-known – and infamous – appearance this year was on that CCTV footage.
Until this week.
Now the courtroom sketches of Combs appearing before a New York judge are already usurping the more iconic images of his bedazzled rapper lifestyle. One of his raided homes, a 13-room mansion in Beverly Hills, is on the market for $61.5 million, put up for sale the week before his arrest.
Combs is fighting for his freedom, not just his business interest or his reputation. And that battle suffered a great loss on Tuesday when the judge denied his bail, ordering the rapper to remain in federal custody while awaiting trial on racketeering and sex trafficking charges.
Combs’ lawyer said he intends to appeal the decision on Wednesday, and there’s been no word directly from remanded Combs. For all his bluster and bravado, he’s shown no interest in real prison time in the past; when he was found not guilty in March 2001 of gun and bribery charges, Combs was visibly shaking before the verdict was read.
Legions of fans thronged the courtroom and beyond during that trial, which stemmed from a 1999 nightclub shooting that occurred while Combs was with Jennifer Lopez, both of them arguably at the height of their fame.
Fans “threw open the windows” of the courthouse upon his acquittal, chanting his name and ‘Leave him alone,’” The New York Times reported at the time.
That was a different era, however, and a very different, still serious set of charges; Diddy was years from being accused of directing a criminal enterprise over decades of drugging and assaulting women, leaving injuries that took weeks and months to heal.
This time, he’s facing a prosecution that represents him as being a criminal mastermind who “used the Combs Business, including certain employees, to carry out, facilitate and cover up his abuse and commercial sex. Those employees – including security staff, household staff, personal assistants and high-ranking supervisors – and other close associates acted as Combs’ intermediaries, and their conduct was facilitated and assisted by Combs’ control of the Combs business.”
The rapper orchestrated and continued to carry out a campaign of terror against victims even after the most damning allegations came out against him last year, according to the indictment.
“Combs and members and associates of the Enterprise pressured witnesses and victims, including through attempted bribery, to stay silent and not report what they experienced or knew to law enforcement,” it states.
Still, though, the investigation persisted, gathering enough evidence against the impresario to land him in custody for what now seems to be an indeterminate amount of time.
Combs’ attorney, Marc Agnifilo, on Tuesday insisted his client was “an innocent man with nothing to hide.”
“Mr Combs is a fighter, he’s going to fight this to the end,” Agnifilo said outside of the federal courthouse.
Twenty-three years ago, Combs was celebrating the continued success of his release Bad Boy for Life and his third studio album, The Saga Continues.
Perhaps both titles marked another hint of honesty from Combs – and more than a little bit of foreshadowing.
Seth Bodnar, the former president of the University of Montana, is now running for Senate as an independent
Kirk Siegler/NPR
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BUTTE, Mont. – It’s long been an adage in Montana politics that if you’re running for office, you’d better have a float in the Butte St. Paddy’s Day Parade, which draws thousands to the mining city’s historic uptown, soaking up the nostalgia – and the Guiness.
Here, you’re just steps from the towering old mining headframes and the one mile long and half mile wide Berkeley Pit. Now shuttered, it was once one of the world’s largest copper deposits.
Larry Carden, in a Notre Dame sweatshirt, never misses the parade.
“You’ll see a lot more boos for the Republicans than you will the Democrats, I can guarantee you that,” he says.
That’s a nod to Butte’s long history of Democratic politics and a strong labor movement going back to around 1900, when the “Copper King” mine owners ruled Montana business and media, and bribed their way into political office. Today, Carden, who’s retired, is worried that the mega rich are again influencing politics here, and how expensive life is in his home state.
“Between health care and gas and food, and you go to the store the other day, there’s rib steaks $19.99 a pound, you know,” Carden says.
A political group marches in the St. Patrick’s Day parade in Butte, Montana, March 17 2026
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This year’s parade followed an unusually turbulent few days in Montana’s political scene – half of its congressional delegation abruptly retired. Despite the state’s recent tilt from purple to deep red, the races for their seats could be more in play now because of the way Senator Steve Daines and Congressman Ryan Zinke, both Republicans, gave up them up and chose their successors. In Daines’ case, he withdrew his candidacy just minutes before the filing deadline.
Like a lot of people in Butte, Carden is a longtime Democrat. But he says he’s grown disillusioned with party politics.
“I would rather everything be independent where there is no party designation and then you have to pay more attention to who the person actually is,” Carden says.
New Candidate opts to go independent
That’s exactly what Seth Bodnar, a former Green Beret running for U.S. Senate, is trying to capitalize on. He joined other candidates mixed in with Irish dancing troupes and fire department floats, as he walked the parade route along Park Street shaking the occasional hand and tossing candy.
In an interview with NPR earlier in Missoula, Bodnar, who recently resigned his post as University of Montana president, pitched what he says would be his bi-partisan appeal.
“I’m an independent,” Bondar says. “When I raised my right hand at the age of 18 and I swore an oath to this Constitution when I joined the military, not to a political party.”.
Person over party used to be the playbook in Montana, which some call just one long Main Street. It’s how former Senator Jon Tester used to win despite being a Democrat as the state got redder.
The day after Bodnar formally announced he was gathering signatures to get on the ballot, his long shot bid got taken a lot more seriously.
Sen. Steve Daines, who was elected to the Senate in 2014, sent shockwaves through the state’s political scene when he announced in a video posted to X that he’d decided not to seek reelection.
Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., speaks at the Senate Finance Committee confirmation hearing for Scott Bessent, President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to be Secretary of the Treasury, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025.
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“I’m also very thankful to have served alongside President Trump and my colleagues in the Senate,” Daines said in the video. “Together we built a conservative majority on the Supreme Court, we delivered the largest tax cut in U.S. history, we unleashed American energy dominance and secured our southern border.”
Daines’ late hour withdrawal presumably clears the way for his chosen successor, Kurt Alme, the U.S. Attorney for Montana until he declared his candidacy for Daines’ seat. Daines later said withdrawing earlier could have enticed a prominent Democrat like Tester to enter the race.
Independent Seth Bodnar says it reminds him of the Montana of old.
“We have direct election of senators in the United States in part because of political corruption in this state 125 years ago, Copper Kings trying to buy U.S. Senate seats,” Bodnar says. “That didn’t work back then and it’s not going to work right now.”
But Democrats say Bodnar’s entry as an independent will just split the liberal vote.
The GOP base is angry too
“Montanans are getting very indignant about what they see as out and out dishonesty,” says Roger Koopman, a former Republican legislator and Montana Public Service commissioner from Bozeman.
Koopman says the party establishment’s backroom dealing is a gift to Democrats and especially Seth Bodnar, who he says is a liberal running as an independent.
“They’re going to say, ‘hey, I’m over these Republicans playing games with me, you can’t do that and expect me to vote for you, I’m not going to vote Democrat, but here’s this guy out here who says he’s independent, let me give him a try,’” Koopman says.
Alme has been keeping a low profile. Political pundits say that might be by design. A campaign spokesperson sent NPR this statement: “Anyone could run for this seat. Kurt is running on his record as the Trump-endorsed candidate of common sense who knows how to be tough on violent crime, dismantle drug cartels, and deliver historic tax relief. Voters will decide, and Kurt is confident in his work serving Montana and helping President Trump put America First.”
At Montana State University, political science department chair Eric Austin says he expects party tensions will cool and Republicans will rally around their nominee by November.
“I think in part that speaks to the changes in the electorate in the state,” Austin says. “As the state has become more red, people have more strongly affiliated themselves with the Republican Party and less as independents.”
However, Austin says the midterms will be a referendum on President Trump and there’s growing economic anxiety in Montana. Farmers are getting hurt by Trump’s tariffs. His Iran War has sent fertilizer prices soaring, raised interest rates and the cost of gas.
Back in Butte, at the St. Paddy’s Day parade, longtime Democratic activist Evan Barrett says there’s a resurgence in populist resentment in Montana.
Longtime Montana Democratic party activist Evan Barrett at the St. Patrick’s Day parade in Butte, Montana, March 17 2026
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“It’s almost like a repetition of the past,” says Barrett, a one time economic aide to former Governor Brian Schweitzer.
Ducking into an old storefront to take a break from the spectacle of the parade, Barrett told NPR there’s a feeling in the electorate that a lot of outside money is coming into influence politics, but not staying in Montana and being invested into things like schools.
“So this is a really wild and different year,” Barrett says. “Anybody that tells you they know what’s gonna happen, well, be a bit skeptical.”
President Trump has endorsed last minute Senate candidate Kurt Alme but it’s not clear what kind of effect that might have on voters in November.
new video loaded: Savannah Guthrie Says She Believes Her Mother Was Taken for Ransom
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Savannah Guthrie Says She Believes Her Mother Was Taken for Ransom
Savannah Guthrie spoke on the “Today” show in her first interview since her mother, Nancy Guthrie, was abducted from her home near Tuscon, Ariz.
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“The ransom note, notes for ransom requests came. Did you believe those to be real?” “The two notes that we received that we responded to — I tend to believe those are real.” “Really?” “We still don’t know. Honestly, we don’t know anything. We don’t know anything. So I don’t know that it’s because she’s my mom. But yeah, that’s probably — which is too much to bear to think that I brought this to her bedside, that it’s because of me. And I just say, I’m so sorry, Mommy. I’m so sorry. We need answers. We cannot be at peace without knowing. And someone can do the right thing. And it is never too late to do the right thing.”
By Christina Kelso
March 26, 2026
Kim says GOP offer is “not where we want it to be”
Democratic Sen. Andy Kim of New Jersey said Democrats are continuing to evaluate the Republicans’ offer but said it does not go far enough.
“We’re talking through it right now but it’s not where we want it to be,” Kim said off the Senate floor. “We just continue to be stuck here.”
Kim said “we’re hunkered down” and “hopefully we can just continue to hash it out.” He did not give details about the latest offer, noting that conversations are “evolving in real time.”
“But for me, it’s not good enough for me,” he added.
Senate now voting on advancing DHS funding
The Senate is taking a procedural vote on funding for DHS. The vote marks the seventh attempt to advance the measure, which needs 60 votes.
Asked whether the vote would be considered a response to the latest GOP offer, Thune said, “Hopefully there will be, yeah, there will be some finality in this real soon.”
“We’re going to know real soon,” he added.
Photo ID amendment fails in party-line vote
The amendment that would have required voters to show photo identification to cast a ballot failed to advance. The vote was 53-47, falling short of the 60 votes needed to succeed.
The vote came during the second week of a marathon debate over a controversial elections bill known as the SAVE America Act, which would require proof of citizenship to register to vote and certain forms of photo ID to cast a ballot. The legislation does not have enough support to clear the 60-vote threshold in the upper chamber, but President Trump has dialed up the pressure on Senate Republicans to find a way to force it through.
Read more here.
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Britt says Republicans have had “very fruitful conversations” with Democrats
GOP Sen. Katie Britt of Alabama, who has been involved in talks to end the stalemate, told reporters that Republicans have had productive conversations with Democrats.
“We had very fruitful conversations last night with some of our Democrat colleagues and this morning. So, you know, I hope that we can find that pathway. I think that’s what’s best,” she said. “These missions don’t need to go unfunded, particularly at such a critical time in our nation’s history, and also the men and women that are working need to get paid.”
Senate begins vote on advancing amendment on photo ID for voting
The Senate has begun a vote on invoking cloture on an amendment that would require a photo ID to cast a ballot in federal elections. It needs 60 votes to succeed.
The vote on advancing DHS funding is expected next.
King says Democrats are reviewing GOP offer
Sen. Angus King, an independent who caucuses with Democrats and has been involved in the talks over DHS funding, said Democrats are going over the latest Republican proposal.
“We’re reviewing that offer now,” King told reporters.
Thune: “Hopefully we can find a pathway to drive this to the finish”
Leaving the floor, Thune didn’t share details about the latest GOP offer, noting that the text is now in front of Democrats. But he stressed that “it’s important that we try and close this down and get it done today.”
“Let’s let the Dems react to what’s out there, and hopefully we can find a pathway to drive this to the finish,” Thune said.
He said the White House has been involved in “the back-and-forth that has occurred overnight and all morning.” He also suggested that the offer is close to what Republicans offered early this week, which Democrats rejected because it didn’t include reforms to ICE.
Asked about the possibility of delaying the Senate’s recess, Thune said If DHS funding isn’t resolved, “I suspect we’ll probably be around here.”
Thune says Republicans sent Democrats “last and final” offer
Entering the Senate chamber, Thune told reporters that Republicans have made a final offer to Democrats.
“The Dems are now in possession of what I think is our last and final,” Thune said. “So let’s hope this gets it done.”
Senate moves up votes to 1 p.m.
The votes that were originally scheduled for 1:30 p.m. — on the voter ID amendment and advancing DHS funding — will now take place at 1 p.m., according to Majority Whip John Barrasso’s office.
House to vote for third time on DHS funding
The House will vote this afternoon on legislation to fund DHS as movement on the issue remains stalled in the Senate.
The lower chamber has twice passed legislation to fund the entire department through September, but it’s been effectively dead on arrival in the Senate as it’s been unable to overcome the 60-vote threshold to advance.
A vote is also planned on a resolution “expressing the support of the House” for the department. The resolution would do little beyond offer gratitude for DHS employees.
Votes are expected to begin around 2 p.m.
House Democrats, meanwhile, are trying to force a vote on legislation to fund all of DHS except ICE and CBP. But their discharge petition, introduced last week, is short of the 218 signatures needed to move forward. So far, 205 of 214 Democrats have backed it. It would also need the support of four Republicans.
GOP senator says talks to end impasse have increased
Sen. John Hoeven, a North Dakota Republican involved in the DHS negotiations, told reporters at the Capitol that talks continue and have increased.
“We put options in front of the Democrats, and they just need to quit backing up on us and vote to get DHS funded and TSA agents paid,” Hoeven said.
He cited developments since the initial Democratic opposition to funding DHS, including the new leadership at the department and the deescalation in Minneapolis, along with some of the reforms within the initial DHS bill that remain on the table.
“I’m hoping that as we get to the end of this week — you know how it works around here with deadlines — that that’s going to get us to a point where we get it done,” he said. “But we’re still working.”
Hoeven said it’s a good thing that the Senate has begun voting, with a failed vote Wednesday on advancing the DHS bill and another vote set for later this afternoon. He said “I think that helps get some movement.”
“We’re just trying to find what it’s going to take to bring folks together and get it done,” Hoeven said.
Thune: “We’re trying to narrow it in and home in on a deal”
Thune, appearing on Fox News on Thursday morning, accused Democrats of moving the goalposts and “talking in circles” on DHS funding.
“Every single day they move the goalpost,” Thune said. “They said we don’t want to fund ICE. And now they’re saying we don’t want to fund ICE and we want reforms.”
The majority leader said “we’re trying to narrow it in and home in on a deal” that can be struck in the “very near future.” But he argued that for Democrats, it’s “all about politics.”
“I think they’re just playing politics with this, have been from the beginning,” Thune said. “They think it’s really good with their base.”
Thune said “this has got to stop,” adding that “I think they’re going to come to their senses — I hope they do.”
Asked whether the Senate will go on its scheduled recess, Thune reiterated that “it’s very hard to take off if we don’t have DHS funded.”
“Obviously we’re looking at optionality in terms of what it would take if we have to be here,” Thune said. “But one way or the other, we have to get this done.”
Trump warns of “very drastic measures” without end to shutdown
At the beginning of a Cabinet meeting at the White House, President Trump blasted Democrats for the ongoing impasse, saying they are “really punishing the American people.”
“They need to end the shutdown immediately, or we’ll have to take some very drastic measures,” the president said, without elaborating.
Senate to take up voter ID amendment, DHS funding beginning at 1:30 p.m.
The Senate is scheduled to convene at noon and will take two votes at 1:30 p.m, according to a notice from Majority Whip John Barrasso’s office.
The first vote will be on advancing an amendment to the SAVE America Act, which would require photo ID to cast a vote. The second vote will be on advancing the DHS funding measure. Additional votes are possible later in the day.
Sen. Ron Johnson renews call to end the filibuster
GOP Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin wrote an op-ed Thursday advocating for changing the Senate rules to end the 60-vote threshold required to advance most legislation in the chamber, a position he has been reiterating in recent days.
“I’m not sure how things could get much worse by ending the filibuster,” Johnson wrote in the Daily Wire. “The status quo certainly isn’t working. I think it’s obvious things must change — we need a paradigm shift.”
Johnson described dysfunction in the Senate, pointing particularly to the funding process and the five shutdowns that have occurred since he came to Congress in 2011. He compared the Senate to “plaque clogging an artery leading to a heart attack.”
He acknowledged those in his party who wish to preserve the filibuster and argue that it fosters bipartisanship. But the Wisconsin Republican said that, if the filibuster ends, “we all might be surprised to find senators attempting to find common ground on more issues to help ensure bills pass with bipartisan support.”
Johnson opposed ending the filibuster until last fall’s 43-day shutdown, the longest in U.S. history. In 2022, Johnson said Democrats who wanted to abolish the practice were attempting a “naked power grab.”
Trump floats ending the filibuster to open DHS
President Trump floated ending the Senate’s 60-vote threshold to reopen DHS, asking, “When is ‘enough, enough’ for our Republican Senators.”
“There comes a time when you must do what should have been done a long time ago, and something which the Lunatic Democrats will do on day one, if they ever get the chance,” Mr. Trump said in a post on Truth Social. “TERMINATE THE FILIBUSTER, and get our airports, and everything else, moving again.”
The president urged the Senate to also add the SAVE America Act, an election bill he has repeatedly pushed Congress to pass. Earlier this week, he threw a wrench into DHS talks when he told Republicans not to make a deal with Democrats and to instead link the elections bill to DHS funding.
Thune has repeatedly said there isn’t support for ending the filibuster within the GOP conference.
The president claimed in another post that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer “will make a deal now because he thinks that if he doesn’t, Republicans will TERMINATE THE FILIBUSTER, something which they should do whether he makes a deal or not!!!”
Senate schedule up in the air as recess looms
The Senate is scheduled to be on recess for two weeks starting next week. But Thune has kept the door open to keeping the chamber in town if the impasse persists.
The majority leader told reporters as the Senate convened Wednesday that no decisions had been made yet on whether senators would stay in town if they’re unable to reach a deal.
“I think it’s awfully hard not to have the government funded if we’re not here,” Thune said.
Later Wednesday, Thune suggested that the deadline could put pressure on senators, who often leave town on Thursday nights, to reach a deal.
“You know how it is around here. It’s not Thursday yet,” Thune said. “And sometimes you’ve got to let things run. We’ll see where the deal might land.”
Senate to vote again on advancing DHS funding
The Senate is set to vote Thursday afternoon on advancing a DHS funding measure. The motion fell short of the 60-vote threshold needed to succeed on Wednesday for the sixth time.
It was the first time the chamber took the vote with the promise of the GOP offer, which would amend the measure funding all of DHS by stripping out the funds for ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations division. Just one Democrat, Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, voted in favor of moving forward. But Republicans are hoping to peel off more support on Thursday.
Democrats pushing for reforms after GOP offers to forgo ICE deportation funding
Republicans quickly rejected Democrats’ counterproposal to fund the government and secure ICE reforms like boosting training standards and requiring immigration officers to wear identification on Wednesday. They criticized the offer as unserious, arguing that if Democrats refuse to fund ICE, they don’t have grounds to seek reforms to the agency.
Democrats see things differently.
Independent Sen. Angus King of Maine, who struck a deal with Republicans to end the last shutdown, outlined that ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations division and Customs and Border Protection would be funded under the GOP offer. He claimed that “right now, most of HSI is in ICE doing ERO work.”
“It’s an illusory solution, if they can man ICE with people from … CBP and HSI,” King said. “I don’t have any problem with HSI and CBP doing their jobs. But not if they’re doing ICE’s job.”
Despite the GOP pushback on Democrats’ effort to secure reforms, Thune suggested later in the day that there is some room for negotiation, saying if Democrats “get a more realistic set of proposals, or a more realistic offer on the table, then we’ll be back in business.”
The majority leader also didn’t rule out the possibility of a short-term measure to fund the government while conversations continue on a long-term solution.
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Video: Savannah Guthrie Says She Believes Her Mother Was Taken for Ransom
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