Funding package fails to pass key vote over dispute on DHS funding
A funding package failed to reach the 60 votes it needed to pass a Senate procedural vote on Thursday, with a 46 to 54 vote. Congress has until Saturday to reach a consensus on funding or the government will enter a partial shutdown.
The main issue with the package is funding for the Department of Homeland Security. Democrats are threatening to derail the bills unless the DHS funding includes new guardrails for immigration enforcement.
But the vote wasn’t just along party lines. Eight Republicans joined all Democrats to vote against the bill, including Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D. Thune immediately moved to reconsider the package, seeking to bring the measure back to the floor quickly.
The House of Representatives passed the funding bills last week, with seven Democrats in the lower chamber agreeing with nearly all Republicans. Any changes to the legislation in the Senate would require a House vote to concur.
The House is in recess, and its leaders have not said whether representatives would return to vote on any changes before a partial shutdown began after midnight Friday.
Why are Democrats fighting DHS funding?
After the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good by federal agents in Minnesota, Democrats demanded changes to the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement.
Democratic leaders said they want to “overhaul” Immigration and Customs Enforcement to “ensure the public’s safety.” Democrats want to ban roving ICE patrols, require a warrant signed by a judge before officers forcibly enter private property and “enforce accountability” by creating a universal code of conduct that governs when federal agents can use force.
They have also proposed banning ICE officers from wearing masks and requiring them to wear body cameras and proper identification, according to The Hill.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has demanded the Senate majority leader separate a DHS funding bill from the budget package. If that happens, Schumer said, Democrats would pass the other five spending proposals and prevent a shutdown.
Is a government shutdown likely?
CNBC reports that some Republican senators appear open to isolating the DHS bill to prevent a government shutdown. Thursday’s vote included all six bills.
“Rather than scuttling the whole package, I say let’s go and pass what we can,” Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., told reporters on Wednesday. “I think all the bills will pass except Homeland Security, and then we can sit down and talk about Homeland Security.”
Other proposals, such as a promise to consider ICE changes after the funding bill passed, have fallen flat. Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, who caucuses with the Democrats, said they would need more than a promise.
During a cabinet meeting at the same time as the Senate vote, President Donald Trump didn’t think the U.S. would enter another shutdown, saying neither side wants that outcome.
“Hopefully, we won’t have a shutdown. We’re working on that right now,” Trump told reporters. “I think we’re getting close. The Democrats, I don’t believe, want to see it either. So we’ll work in a very bipartisan way, I believe, not to have a shutdown. We don’t want to shut down.”
If senators do agree to pull DHS funding from the package, it would then head back to the House, where Republicans have already warned their Senate colleagues not to make any changes.
The Hill also reports that Republicans said they would seek significant concessions from Democrats if they split the six-bill package. Some have threatened to seek other ways to fund DHS without Democrats’ approval.
If Congress doesn’t reach an agreement by Saturday at 12:01 a.m. ET, the government will enter a partial shutdown.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
