Democrats block DHS funding bill Amid risking government shutdown
Democratic senators are pledging to resist a funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security in the wake of the shooting death of a 37-year-old Minnesota man, a position that heightens the likelihood of a partial government shutdown by the end of the week. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer expressed his views in a social media post Saturday night, shortly after the shooting, stating that the situation in Minnesota is “appalling” and emphasizing that Democrats “will not provide the votes to proceed to the appropriations bill if the DHS funding bill is included.” President Donald Trump has signed into law six of the 12 annual spending bills for the current budget year. Six more are pending consideration in the Senate. If senators do not take action by midnight Friday, funding for the agencies included in those six bills will come to an end. Republicans will require some backing from Democrats to ensure the passage of the remaining spending bills promptly, thereby averting a partial shutdown. The support came under scrutiny following the tragic incident earlier this month, when Renee Good, a mother of three, was fatally shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in Minneapolis. However, the tragic shooting on Saturday of Alex Pretti, an intensive care unit nurse, swiftly led Democrats to adopt a more assertive position. “Democrats sought common sense reforms in the Department of Homeland Security spending bill, but because of Republicans’ refusal to stand up to President Trump, the DHS bill is woefully inadequate to rein in the abuses of ICE,” said Schumer. “I will vote no.” Washington Sen Patty Murray, the leading Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee and a pivotal negotiator on the funding package, has been advocating for her colleagues to support the homeland security bill, asserting that Democrats have effectively resisted significant increases to the ICE budget.
In the aftermath of the shooting, Murray stated on X this past Sunday that “I will NOT support the DHS bill as it stands. Federal agents cannot murder people in broad daylight and face zero consequences,” Murray wrote. Federal officials have asserted that the actions of the agents involved in the Good and Pretti shootings were justified. Democrats asserted that the video released of both shootings depicted a different narrative, while certain Republicans are advocating for comprehensive investigations. “The events in Minneapolis are incredibly disturbing,” Senator Bill Cassidy posted on X. “The credibility of ICE and DHS are at stake.” A comprehensive joint investigation by both federal and state authorities is essential. “We can trust the American people with the truth.” Senator Thom Tillis has called for a “thorough and impartial investigation” into the shooting, stating that “any administration official who rushes to judgment and tries to shut down an investigation before it begins are doing an incredible disservice to the nation and to President Trump’s legacy.” Senator Lindsey Graham stated that Democrats ought to rethink their stance on withholding support for DHS funding and collaborate with him to “end the mess created by sanctuary city policies. Now is not the time to defund one of our major national security priorities: border protection,” Graham said on X. The increasing opposition from Democrats places Republican leaders in the Senate in a challenging predicament.
The government, including the Department of Defence, is currently functioning under a short-term bill that secures funding only until Friday. Republican leaders aimed to prevent another shutdown following last fall’s 43-day closure, which centered on Democrats’ demand for the extension of federal subsidies that enhance the affordability of health coverage for individuals enrolled in the Affordable Care Act marketplace. Prior to Pretti’s passing, numerous Democrats shared similar sentiments regarding a possible shutdown, providing backing in the House for the majority of the outstanding appropriations bills, with the exception of DHS. The House has forwarded the six funding bills to the Senate as a comprehensive package, complicating efforts to remove the homeland security component, as Murray and other Democrats are insisting. The road ahead remains unclear. The Senate will not reconvene until Tuesday, as a result of the snowstorm. The House is scheduled to be out of session this week, and any alterations to the funding package would necessitate a re-passage. Democrats are advocating for policy changes to be incorporated into the homeland security spending bill that would compel ICE agents to utilize warrants for immigration arrests, mandate enhanced training, require agents to identify themselves, and ensure that Border Patrol agents remain on the border instead of aiding ICE with immigration raids in the interior of the country.
Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy, the leading Democrat on the subcommittee responsible for homeland security funding, stated that Congress cannot finance a department “that is murdering American citizens, that is traumatizing little boys and girls across the country in violation of the law.” Democratic senators were set to engage in a conference call Sunday evening to deliberate on the forthcoming steps. House Democrats convened their own caucus call in the morning featuring Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and the state’s attorney general, Keith Ellison, both of whom are former congressmen. Several other Democratic senators declared their intention to vote “no” on homeland security funding, including some who had previously assisted Republicans in concluding the historic shutdown last year. “The abuses of power we are seeing from ICE in Minneapolis and across the country are un-American and cannot be normalised,” Senator Jacky Rosen said in a post on X. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto stated her opposition to that portion of the package. Minnesota’s Democratic senators have also signaled their intention to oppose the DHS funding bill. For those inquiring about our next steps: “Not voting to fund ICE is a great place for us to start,” Senator Tina Smith wrote on X. We stand against the ICE funding bill. “We call for a full and transparent investigation with state officials,” Senator Amy Klobuchar stated. “And we call on our Republican colleagues to stand up.”
“They know this is wrong.” The advancements achieved by Congress regarding spending bills indicate that a significant portion of the federal government’s operations would persist, even in the event that lawmakers fail to finalize the task at hand. A bill signed by Trump on Friday allocates funding for the departments of Justice, Commerce, and the Interior, as well as the Environmental Protection Agency, NASA, and the US Army Corps of Engineers, extending through the end of the budget year in September. The Department of Agriculture received funding from a prior measure, indicating that a shutdown should not impede food assistance this time around. However, other essential functions of the government would face interruptions.
