The likelihood of a partial government shutdown has increased, as Senate Democrats face pressure to block Department of Homeland Security funding following the fatal shootings of U.S. citizens Alex Pretti and Renee Good by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis this month. Congress has until January 30 to pass a spending resolution, to avoid shutting down large portions of the government.
On January 22, the House sent the $1.2 trillion appropriations package to the Senate, which included roughly $10 billion for ICE (full details are in the previous blog post). The DHS funding bill received a separate vote in the House, narrowly passing by a vote of 220-207. Only seven Democrats voted in favor, as public pressure mounts to rein in ICE following large-scale protests in Minnesota.
The package seemed poised to pass the Senate with at least 60 votes, but following the shooting of Alex Pretti on January 24, Senate Democrats have vowed they will not fund DHS without new guardrails.
Weather-related disruptions from the winter storm have complicated matters; the Senate vote scheduled for January 26 has been rescheduled until at least January 27. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer hopes to separate the DHS bill from the rest of the measures, which have overwhelming bipartisan support. However, even if Senate Democrats can convince Republicans to separate it, the legislation would need approval again in the House, which is on recess until February 2. All this points towards a likely shutdown beginning Friday.
Unlike the last government shutdown, many government operations would remain operational. Congress has already passed six out of the 12 full-year appropriations bills, which have been signed into law by President Trump. This includes funding for the Departments of Justice, Commerce, Agriculture, Interior, Veterans Affairs, and the Legislative Branch.
More details to come.