Ferox Strategies and CT Strategies return with November Homeland Security Budget Update

With only two weeks to go until a partial federal shutdown, Congress has no obvious plan to keep the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and several more federal agencies open through the holidays. President Trump's threat to trigger a shutdown if Congress doesn't offer $5 billion for his promised southern border wall has paralyzed Washington, with both parties struggling to decipher what President Trump will accept in a final funding deal, and what will fly with their own voting base. All attempts at compromise have so far fallen flat on Capitol Hill, and President Trump has shown no interest in compromising. But, the clock is ticking for Capitol Hill Republicans: their best chance of extracting increased funding for a border wall, or other Trump Administration immigration priorities, ends with the 115th Congress on January 2. In Ferox Strategies' latest Homeland Security Budget Update, Ferox Chief of Staff Lucia Alonzo updates our clients with the latest on this debate and the rising chances of a pre-holidays shutdown.

Also this month: the November 2018 midterm elections restored Democrats to power in the House, signalling a new era of congressional opposition to the White House not yet seen in the Trump presidency. House Democrats, including incoming House Appropriations Chair Nita Lowey (D-NY) and likely House Appropriations Homeland Security Subcommittee Chair Lucille Roybal Allard (D-CA), have touted their battle plans. Under the surface, however, intra-party divisions are popping up as Democrats debate just HOW to buck the Trump Administration on issues like the promised border wall, immigration enforcement, and trade enforcement.

Also on Capitol Hill, House Republicans are struggling to prepare for life in the minority. After a slew of retirements and defeats in 2018, fights for leadership slots on the Appropriations Committee and elsewhere overshadowed the party's efforts to bounce back. Longtime appropriator and incoming House Appropriations Ranking Member Kay Granger (R-TX) finally prevailed, with her elevation triggering a cascading, difficult-to-predict shuffling among GOP appropriations leaders complicating predictions for incoming leaders on the Homeland Security Subcommittee and elsewhere.

All this and more in this month's issue! Click below to read the full report!

Read The Update