President Donald Trump reportedly turned down a proposal by Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) on Sunday to end the partial government shutdown that has caused chaos at airports across the country. Thune’s proposal would have had Senate Republicans vote to fund all of the Department of Homeland Security except for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to Punchbowl News.

Thune said funding for ICE could be approved in a later reconciliation bill, but, according to Punchbowl’s report, Trump rejected the idea and also threatened to publicly call out GOP senators if they left Washington, D.C., for the upcoming recess without having passed DHS funding and his SAVE America Act, a sweeping bill that would require people to show proof of citizenship when registering to vote, among other things.

Trump added that he is planning to host Republican senators and their families for Easter Dinner at the White House — but some members saw the president’s invitation as a threat rather than a reward, the report states.

In a post on his Truth Social platform on Sunday evening, Trump made it clear that Republicans shouldn’t strike a deal with Democrats unless they vote to pass his SAVE America Act. He also urged Thune to name the GOP senators who are opposed to that bill.

“They will never be elected again!” he wrote.

President Donald Trump shakes hands with Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) during a lunch with Republican senators on the Rose Garden patio on Oct. 21, 2025.

AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta

Trump doubled down on his position on Monday, blaming Democrats for the partial shutdown and confirming that he had urged Republicans not to compromise, prompting concern that the shutdown could extend into April.

“Don’t settle because we have something bigger. Only settle if you get the SAVE America Act,” he told reporters.

Despite Trump’s focus on getting the voting legislation approved at all costs, it faces an uphill battle in the Senate due to opposition from Democrats and a number of Republicans, as Thune has repeatedly explained.

Meanwhile, many Homeland Security staffers, including Transportation Security Administration agents, have been working without pay since the DHS shutdown began on Feb. 14. Over 400 TSA workers have quit since then, NBC News reported, and many have been calling in sick amid the standoff, leading to long security lines at airports and frustration for travelers.

ICE has already been deployed at some U.S. airports amid the partial government shutdown. This federal agent was photographed at JFK airport in New York City on March 23, 2026.

Mostafa Bassim/Anadolu via Getty Images

Trump threatened over the weekend to deploy ICE officers to some airports to help TSA with airport security unless Democrats vote for DHS funding.

ICE officers have already been spotted at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport and O’Hare International Airport in Chicago on Monday. Democrats and the American Federation of Government Employees, the union for TSA officers, have criticized the move.

“The last thing the American people need is for untrained ICE agents to be deployed at airports across the country, potentially to brutalize or to kill them,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) told CNN on Sunday.