Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, a Republican on the bipartisan conference for border security, said Friday the odds there will be another partial shutdown are "nil, or next to nil."
"In this situation, there is no appetite on either side of the aisle and I think in either chamber for another partial government shutdown," the Tennessee lawmaker told Fox News' "Fox and Friends."
Last month's shutdown was a "problem and should never have happened," Fleischmann said, adding that the Senate was wrong for refusing to take up a bill backed by President Donald Trump that included wall funding when it was passed by the House when it still had a Republican majority.
Fleischmann, who serves as the top Republican on the House Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on Homeland Security, added that the conference committee will likely include some kind of border wall funding in its deal.
Meanwhile, Fleischmann said he was disappointed by Democrats' original proposal, which included a call for a "rather drastic" reduction in detention beds for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
"That was going to be a nonstarter," he said. "We need more ICE beds. We need more money for the new barrier for the new wall, and that's where the negotiation, I think is. I think that's where it's going and I think that's where the deal is going to be made."
He also denied that there will be any move to defund ICE, saying that is "empty" political rhetoric.
"The vast majority of Democrats support ICE and the Republicans support ICE," said Fleischmann. ICE is going to increase and do well."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.