Analysis: Who has the upper hand on the DHS shutdown? | CNN Politics

The Department of Homeland Security has been shut down for more than a month. But extremely long and growing TSA wait times have created newfound political urgency to reach a deal. That — along with lawmakers wanting to leave town for an Easter break by the end of the week — means there could soon be some movement. The debate over funding the agency has repeatedly stalled, as Democrats have demanded changes to how federal immigration enforcement operates and Republicans have resisted. But which direction are the talks going? And who has more leverage here? It’s a little more difficult to say than it has been in past shutdowns. Still, there are some early clues. There hasn’t been much polling on the shutdown, in large part because the war with Iran has dominated the political zeitgeist over the past four weeks. But a poll released Sunday suggests that Democrats might have more leverage than Republicans — though the numbers are not necessarily definitive. The CBS News-YouGov poll showed 31% of Americans said that Democrats’ position was worth having a partial shutdown, while 36% said it was not worth it (the rest were not sure). That’s a negative five-point gap. But Ame