A federal authorities shutdown was looming bigger Monday as Senate Democrats vowed to dam a sprawling spending package deal that features new funding for President Trump’s controversial immigration crackdown.
Democratic senators say they won’t permit passage of certainly one of six funding payments that bankrolls the Division of Homeland Safety, which oversees Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Patrol brokers, with out vital concessions concerning the crackdown from the White Home.
“Senate Democrats are united in rejecting this DHS spending bill,” Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-New York), the minority chief, tweeted.
Schumer insisted the White Home and congressional Republicans negotiate main reforms to the mass deportation marketing campaign, together with calls for that brokers cease sporting face masks, respect peaceable protests and permit unbiased investigations of the current killings of two U.S. residents who had been shot and killed by brokers in Minneapolis.
Federal brokers push again protesters throughout the “ICE OUT! Noise Demo” outdoors a resort in Minneapolis, Minnesota on January 25, 2026. (Octavio JONES / AFP through Getty Pictures)
“We should not be passing any money to DHS harassment and execution of American citizens by ICE,” Rep. Greg Meeks (D-Queens) stated Monday. “We should not stand for it.”
Reasonable Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-Lengthy Island) took the extraordinary step of apologizing for his vote in favor of the DHS spending invoice simply final Thursday, saying he “failed.”
“I have long been critical of the unlawful behavior of ICE and I must do a better job of demonstrating that,” Suozzi stated Monday in an announcement.
Rep. Laura Gillen (D-Lengthy Island), one other reasonable, has to this point not walked again her personal vote to fund DHS, though she did name for the impeachment of DHS Secretary Kristi Noem after the killing of protester Alex Pretti on Saturday.
Schumer referred to as for Republicans to permit passage of different payments funding the departments of Protection, Labor, Well being and Human Companies, Training, State, Transportation, whereas setting apart the DHS invoice for additional negotiations. Such a deal would doubtless avert a shutdown as many Democrats are able to help the opposite payments.
GOP leaders to this point are refusing to permit separate consideration of the DHS invoice that Democrats object to.
The spending payments are required to maintain the federal government open previous Jan. 31.
The Home narrowly handed your complete spending package deal, together with the DHS spending invoice, final week alongside a principally get together line vote. Simply seven Democrats, together with Suozzi and Gillen, joined Republicans.
Republicans want 60 votes to move them within the Senate, which might require help from not less than seven Democrats.
A number of reasonable Democrats broke ranks with their colleagues to move a stopgap spending invoice and finish a authorities shutdown late final 12 months. Most Capitol Hill insiders thought they might take an identical stance now.
However the escalating immigration crackdown in Minneapolis, particularly the killing of protester Alex Pretti over the weekend, has turned the political tide.
A string of reasonable Democrats have stated they’ll now not help bankrolling DHS with out vital concessions, even when it means risking a shutdown.
The one Democratic senator who appears more likely to help the invoice is maverick reasonable Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pennsylvania), who has backed a number of Trump insurance policies for the reason that president returned to the White Home final 12 months.
