Senate Democrats move to block DHS funding after MN killing
Senate Democrats moved Sunday to block funding for the Department of Homeland Security after a fatal Border Patrol shooting in Minneapolis. The move collapses a fragile spending deal and pushes Congress closer to a partial government shutdown by the end of the week.
Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said his party will not provide the votes needed to advance the appropriations package if DHS funding remains in it. Republicans need Democratic support to pass the remaining six annual spending bills before a Friday midnight deadline, and at least seven Democratic votes would be required to clear the 60-vote threshold in the Senate.
In a post on X, Schumer said the DHS bill “is woefully inadequate to rein in the abuses of ICE” and pledged to vote no.
The standoff follows the shooting deaths of two people in Minnesota by federal agents this month, including Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse killed Saturday, and Renee Good, a mother of three killed earlier this month. Federal agents also shot Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis in the leg during a separate Minneapolis arrest, making this the third federal shooting in the city this month, according to officials.
Democrats withdraw support for DHS bill
Washington Sen. Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee and a key negotiator on the funding package, had been urging her caucus to support the DHS bill after Democrats blocked major increases to ICE’s budget. After Pretti’s death, she reversed course.
“Federal agents cannot murder people in broad daylight and face zero consequences,” Murray wrote on X. “I will NOT support the DHS bill as it stands.”
Other Democratic senators quickly joined her. Minnesota Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith said they will oppose DHS funding. Sens. Jacky Rosen and Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada said they will vote no. Schumer said Republicans should advance the other five spending bills and rewrite the DHS portion.
In an interview on CNN Sunday, Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy, the top Democrat on the subcommittee that oversees Homeland Security funding, said Congress cannot fund a department “that is murdering American citizens, that is traumatizing little boys and girls across the country in violation of the law.”
Sen. Angus King, an independent who caucuses with Democrats and helped end last year’s shutdown, said he also opposes the DHS bill despite his past votes to keep the government open.
“I hate shutdowns,” King said on CBS New’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday. “But I can’t vote for a bill that includes ICE funding under these circumstances.”
Republicans call for investigations, defend funding
Several Republicans called for investigations into the Minneapolis shooting while rejecting Democratic demands to strip DHS from the spending package.
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., said on X the “credibility of ICE and DHS are at stake” and called for a full joint federal and state investigation. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said any administration official who tries to shut down an investigation is doing “an incredible disservice to the nation.”
Sen. Pet Ricketts, R-Neb., said his support for funding ICE “remains the same,” but he expects a “prioritized, transparent investigation into” the incident.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., urged Democrats to reconsider their position, saying now is not the time to defund DHS or border enforcement. He blamed sanctuary city policies for the broader crisis and said Democrats should work with Republicans to resolve the dispute.
Federal officials have said the agents involved in both Minnesota shootings acted lawfully. Democrats say video released of the incidents shows otherwise and warrants an independent investigation.
This story is featured in today’s Unbiased Updates. Watch the full episode here.
Shutdown deadline and procedural roadblocks
Six of the 12 annual spending bills for the current budget year have already been signed into law by President Donald Trump. Six more remain pending in the Senate, including DHS funding.
The package would provide $64.4 billion for Homeland Security, including roughly $10 billion for ICE, according to The Washington Post.
If lawmakers fail to act by midnight Friday, funding for agencies covered under those six bills will lapse, triggering a partial government shutdown.
The House sent the remaining six bills to the Senate as a single package, making it procedurally difficult to remove DHS funding without reopening the entire agreement. The Senate is not scheduled to return until Tuesday due to a snowstorm. The House is in recess until Feb. 2, meaning any rewrite would require lawmakers to return to Washington to re-pass the package.
Democrats are pushing for policy changes in the DHS bill, including requiring ICE agents to use warrants for arrests, mandating stronger training, requiring agents to identify themselves, and limiting Border Patrol involvement in interior immigration raids, according to the AP.
What would stay open
Much of the federal government would continue operating even if DHS funding lapses.
A bill signed Friday funds the Departments of Justice, Commerce, and the Interior, along with the EPA, NASA, and the Army Corps of Engineers, through the end of the fiscal year. The Department of Agriculture is also funded, meaning food assistance programs would continue.
Other operations would face disruption if no agreement is reached.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
