Amid debate over border patrol and Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) operations in Minnesota, it appears Congress is frozen in a standoff that could lead to another government shutdown.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., vowed on Saturday to “vote no†on an upcoming funding package if a funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is not given a separate vote.
Schumer’s remarks came after death by shooting of Alex Pretti, 37, in Minneapolis, Minnesota following an interaction with federal officers.
The House has sent the Senate a package of six appropriations bills which the president must sign into law in order to avert a partial government shutdown. These six bills cover the last of the 12 areas that Congress funds each year.
Since Schumer’s announcement, scores of Democrat senators have joined Schumer in expressing their opposition to the funding package, raising the likelihood of a partial government shutdown.
“I’m not voting for the ICE funding bill,†wrote Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., on social media. Klobuchar was one of the eight Democratic caucus members who voted with Republicans in November to reopen the government.
“I can’t vote for a bill that includes ICE funding under these circumstances—what they’re doing in my state, what we saw yesterday in Minneapolis,†Sen. Angus King, I-Vt., said in an interview Saturday. King was also one of the Senate Democratic Caucus members who voted to end the last shutdown.
What’s more, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., the top Democrat appropriator in the Senate, is sending out mixed messages regarding whether Democrats should support the bill.
The homeland security bill, as well as the five others coming to the Senate, was negotiated by a bicameral and bipartisan conference that included Murray.
On Saturday, Murray demanded the DHS bill “be split off from the larger funding package before the Senate,†but on Sunday she said, “Americans must be eyes wide open that blocking the DHS funding bill will not shut down ICE. ICE is now sitting on a massive slush fund it can tap, whether or not we pass a funding bill.â€
Murray’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment clarifying her position.
Failure to pass the six-bill minibus by the Jan. 30 deadline would dry up funding for the State Department and financial regulators, as well as the departments dealing with war, education, labor, health, and housing.
So far, it appears Senate Republicans are not interested in budging.
“The Republican objective is to fully fund the government this week. The six-bill minibus is currently the only option that does so,†one Senate Republican aide told The Daily Signal.
A second Senate Republican aide told The Daily Signal, “Government funding expires at the end of the week, and Republicans are determined to not have another government shutdown. We will move forward as planned and hope Democrats can find a path forward to join us.â€
Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., characterized DHS funding as essential for fulfilling Republican campaign promises, writing Monday, “Americans sent President Trump back to the White House to stop the reign of terror by criminal illegal aliens unleashed by Joe Biden. Now, Democrats want to shut down part of the government to defy the will of the American people and reward illegal aliens for breaking our laws.â€
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has called the homeland security bill the “hardest” and has said it is possible Congress will have to pass a funding extension in order to fund DHS.
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