Senate Democrats are negotiating with the White House over government funding barely 36 hours before most of the federal government is set to shut down.
Democrats have demanded that Republicans agree to break off Department of Homeland Security funding from a larger funding bill after federal personnel participating in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown killed Alex Pretti last week in Minneapolis. They are pushing for new restrictions on such officials before they support funding DHS.
Democrats are negotiating with the White House but no agreement had been reached Thursday morning, according to a person familiar with the talks, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations. Democrats are open to very short-term legislation that would fund DHS at current levels while negotiations over the new restrictions on DHS play out, the person said.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-South Dakota) said that discussions had been “very constructive” but that Senate Democrats and the White House had not yet reached a deal.
“The White House and the Dem leadership are going to have to figure out the final way to land the plane — if we can,” Thune told reporters Thursday.
The Senate is set to take an initial vote on taking up the government funding package Thursday morning. It’s unclear whether the vote will pass.
A partial government shutdown is still likely to begin this weekend even if Democrats reach a deal with the White House because the House would need to pass the funding package again if the Senate reworks it in any way. The House is not set to return to Washington until Monday. Senate Democrats have rejected GOP proposals to address their demands through an executive order or separate legislation.
The funding package covers most discretionary federal spending: It would fund the Departments of Defense, Health and Human Services, Education, Labor, Housing and Urban Development, Treasury, Transportation and State.
Without additional appropriations, all government functions in those agencies that aren’t considered necessary to protect life, property or national security would stop, and many workers would have to continue on the job unpaid, as they did during last fall’s long shutdown. But many of the administration’s immigration enforcement efforts would continue due to an influx of funding from the GOP tax and spending law passed last year.
The funding measure was negotiated between Republicans and Democrats before last weekend’s shooting in Minneapolis. It includes $64.4 billion for DHS, including $10 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, similar to existing funding levels. It includes limited restrictions on the agency, including a decrease in detention beds, reduced funding for Border Patrol and for ICE’s enforcement and removal operations, and $20 million for body cameras for ICE and Border Patrol agents. It does not include other changes that Democrats had sought, including prohibitions on ICE agents from shooting at moving vehicles or detaining U.S. citizens.
When the bill was unveiled early last week, some Democrats argued that it was necessary to fund the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Transportation Security Administration and other agencies even though it did not do enough to rein in federal immigration agents.
But after agents killed Pretti, even lawmakers who had written the measure said they would oppose it. Sen. Patty Murray (Washington), the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, said that she wouldn’t vote for the bill without changes and that “there must be accountability” for Pretti’s killing.
Some Democrats opposed the bill even before Pretti’s death, which convinced most of the rest of the party to come out against it. If all Republicans supported the funding package, they would need at least seven Senate Democrats to back it to overcome the filibuster’s 60-vote threshold.
Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-New York) on Wednesday demanded Republicans agree to three sets of changes to the DHS bill to earn Democrats’ support: end “roving patrols” by requiring warrants in some cases and requiring ICE to coordinate with state and local law enforcement; create a uniform code of conduct for agents and use independent investigations to enforce it; and require agents to wear body cameras and to not wear masks.
Senate Republicans are more open to some of Democrats’ demands than they were ahead of the government shutdown last fall — many agree there should be additional oversight after federal immigration officials’ aggressive actions against U.S. citizens in Minneapolis.
Republicans have said they’re open to a compromise, including some who have said they’re open to a short-term funding extension for DHS as negotiations continue. Senate Republican leaders have said any agreement would need to be negotiated with the administration. The White House told The Washington Post on Wednesday that they’re committed to “productive dialogue” with Senate Democrats.
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