Senators scrambled on Thursday to break their logjam over funding the Department of Homeland Security and end the intensifying crisis at airports, haggling over an elusive deal amid disputes over President Trump’s immigration crackdown.
With long lines at airports ahead of a prime spring travel weekend, and with lawmakers eager to compromise ahead of their two-week recess, Democrats and Republicans continued to trade proposals, at times in public in the Senate chamber, to end a weekslong impasse.
Republicans said Thursday morning that they had sent Democrats what Senator John Thune of South Dakota, the majority leader, called “our last and final” offer, but there was still no sign of a deal by dusk.
The G.O.P. has offered to take out money for Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations. But Democrats have continued to insist that any measure still include limits on federal immigration agents, and that no funds be moved from other parts of the department for detentions and deportations.
Senator Chris Coons, Democrat of Delaware, hinted at productive talks, saying that the “back and forth” was continuing between the two parties.
“I think the good news is that there is very broad agreement that we have to fund T.S.A.,” he said, referring to the Transportation Security Administration. “The bad news is that there’s not yet agreement on exactly how to fund D.H.S. without Democrats funding ICE, and we’re trying to get clarity on exactly what that looks like.”
The negotiating was happening in closed-door meetings and in public, as bipartisan groups of senators huddled in the Senate chamber to discuss the shape of a potential deal. Still, opinions on the directions of the talks varied from minute to minute and from senator to senator.
Senator Katie Britt, Republican of Alabama, said earlier on Thursday afternoon that she was glad that many Democrats continued “to work to find a pathway forward.” But she stopped short of saying that she was hopeful about the prospects of an agreement.
Hours later, Senator Mike Rounds, Republican of South Dakota, looked glum when he was asked whether lawmakers had made progress on negotiations.
“No,” he said, shaking his head before heading to the Senate floor.
The House on Thursday separately voted to pass a bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security, marking the third time in two months that the chamber had done so. Four Democrats joined Republicans in supporting the bill, which passed 218 to 206.
Still, any funding deal remains stalled in the Senate, where 60 votes are required for major legislation to move forward. With the Trump administration eager to alleviate lines at some of the nation’s busiest airports, lawmakers and officials were exploring alternatives that would pay airport security workers in the absence of a larger funding deal.
Senator John Kennedy, Republican of Louisiana, said he would push for a separate bill that would fund just T.S.A., an approach that Republicans have repeatedly rejected when Democrats have offered proposals to do so since the Department of Homeland Security shutdown began on Feb. 14.
And officials have considered whether they could find a way to pay T.S.A. agents by using funds that Republicans gave the department last year as part of their sweeping tax and domestic policy bill.
Senator Susan Collins, Republican of Maine and the chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee, told reporters on Thursday that the Office of Management and Budget had determined that Mr. Trump had the authority to use funds this way.
Such a move would appear to circumvent Congress’s power of the purse. It would also negate the ability of lawmakers to claim credit for ending the standoff as they head into midterm elections.
Senators, who remained in Washington last weekend, suggested that the possibility of leaving the Capitol to return to their states would be a motivating factor toward an offramp.
“It’s Thursday,” Mr. Coons said dryly. “Wouldn’t it be great?”
Carl Hulse contributed reporting.
Michael Gold covers Congress for The Times, with a focus on immigration policy and congressional oversight.
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