Senate Democrats are threatening to block funding for the US government unless a deadly shooting by federal agents in Minneapolis is addressed, raising concerns of a partial shutdown. The threat comes after lawmakers have been working on individual funding measures, but the remaining six bills include crucial funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which includes ICE and Border Patrol.
Democrat leaders are calling for a split from the broader package to separate DHS funding, arguing that it's not enough without reforms to ICE. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Democrats would work with Republicans on the other five funding bills, but insisted on rewriting the DHS bill. This move could create complications in the Senate as Republicans face an uphill battle.
While independent Sen. Angus King and others are willing to work towards a solution, it's unclear whether Senate Republicans will follow suit or go further. Some senators have called for investigations into the incident, which has raised concerns about accountability and credibility of ICE and DHS.
The looming shutdown is complicated by a winter storm in Washington, with senators set to return on Tuesday afternoon due to bad weather. If funding isn't approved, some agencies and programs would begin to shut down after January 30th. However, unlike the previous partial shutdown, which affected different parts of the government, these closures will be more limited as some appropriations bills have already passed both chambers.
The standoff over DHS funding comes as lawmakers face a critical deadline to fund the government by Friday, January 30th.
Democrat leaders are calling for a split from the broader package to separate DHS funding, arguing that it's not enough without reforms to ICE. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Democrats would work with Republicans on the other five funding bills, but insisted on rewriting the DHS bill. This move could create complications in the Senate as Republicans face an uphill battle.
While independent Sen. Angus King and others are willing to work towards a solution, it's unclear whether Senate Republicans will follow suit or go further. Some senators have called for investigations into the incident, which has raised concerns about accountability and credibility of ICE and DHS.
The looming shutdown is complicated by a winter storm in Washington, with senators set to return on Tuesday afternoon due to bad weather. If funding isn't approved, some agencies and programs would begin to shut down after January 30th. However, unlike the previous partial shutdown, which affected different parts of the government, these closures will be more limited as some appropriations bills have already passed both chambers.
The standoff over DHS funding comes as lawmakers face a critical deadline to fund the government by Friday, January 30th.
I'm worried about this whole situation... It seems like politicians are playing with fire and it's going to affect innocent people 
. If they don't come up with a solution, it'll be chaos for everyone. The fact that ICE is involved makes me nervous too - we need accountability in our law enforcement agencies 
. I just hope some common sense kicks in and they can find a way to work together 
. A partial shutdown isn't the answer, especially when there's still so much to get done 
. Can't they all just agree on something? 
and what's up with all these investigations? can't they just have a honest conversation about what happened instead of playing politics?! and now senators are worried about accountability? shouldn't that be their main concern in the first place?! it's just a massive headache for everyone involved, especially since they're not even getting along on the other bills 
... like what's with all the drama? Can't they just agree on something? I mean, we're already talking about partial shutdowns and winter storms, it's like the government is playing a bad game of Risk 
. And now they're threatening to block funding for Homeland Security? That's just asking for trouble. I don't get why they can't just work together... or at least try 
but at the same time i get why the dems wanna make some noise about it and reformed ice it's like they're trying to send a message but now we got a partial shutdown looming over our heads which would be super inconvenient for alot of americans 
and let's not forget that some agencies are gonna shut down after jan 30th, it's like they're playin with fire 
It's like they're playing a never-ending game of legislative Tetris, trying to fit all these funding bills together while still making time for the winter storm 
. And let's not forget about the DHS funding drama - it's like they're intentionally trying to create a crisis so they can blame each other 
, we just need some decent governance! 
This whole thing is getting crazy! 
Can't believe Democrats are making it so dramatic about this 
. I mean, we need to address what went down in Minneapolis, but can't they see how this is affecting the whole country? 
It's not just about DHS funding, it's about accountability and trust 
We need to find a solution ASAP 
! I hope Senate Republicans will join in and help us work towards a better future 
. This winter storm is just adding fuel to the fire 
Let's chat! 
It's going to be a long week if they don't start working together.
and btw isn't DHS funding like super important or is it too much to ask for accountability from those guys?
can't we just work together on this one? 
. And what about all the senators who aren't even in favor of DHS funding? Shouldn't we be listening to them instead of just following party lines? 
. And what happens when it does get passed? Are we going to just sweep everything under the rug and pretend like nothing happened? I don't think so 
can we please focus on finding solutions that don't involve more drama 
... worst part is DHS funding's tied 2 other bills, makin it hard 4 Reps 2 agree on anything 
but if they don't agree on DHS funding, it's gonna be tough 
I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they can get this figured out before the 30th 
i feel like senate reps are being super unreasonable by refusing to compromise on dhs funding 