McConnell Backs Off From Shuttering DHS

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced Monday night that he would not pursue threats to effectively shut down the Department of Homeland Security. Instead, he said he planned to introduce a bill that would block President Obama’s executive orders on immigration, separate from the DHS’s funding, which is set to run out Friday. The Kentucky Republican’s announcement comes after the Senate failed for a fourth time on Monday to push through a House-passed bill to both fund the DHS and prevent Obama’s immigration orders. If Congress is unable to pass legislation to fund DHS, the department is scheduled to shut down at midnight Friday. It’s unclear how McConnell’s new bill will be received, but Democrats have said they’ll only sign a DHS funding bill if it’s “clean,” or unrelated to immigration.