The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is all but certain to run out of funding by the end of the day Friday, as lawmakers left Capitol Hill Thursday with no deal in sight.
Senate Democrats voted unanimously to block a DHS spending bill that was negotiated before the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis. They argued the bill did not address their demands for reform at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
An effort by Republican Senator Katie Britt to extend funding for DHS for two weeks, allowing more time for negotiations, also failed. With no further votes scheduled this week in the Senate, many senators were preparing to travel to Germany for the Munich Security Conference. House members also left town without reaching a resolution.
Officials from key Homeland Security agencies—including the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the U.S. Secret Service, and the U.S. Coast Guard—have warned lawmakers that a lapse in funding would have serious consequences. These include thousands of personnel working without pay, disruptions to disaster reimbursements, delays in implementing cyber protections, and added strain on agencies still recovering from the previous government shutdown.
However, ICE operations are expected to largely continue due to $75 billion previously approved by Congress as part of the massive funding package passed last summer, often referred to as President Donald Trump’s “one big beautiful bill.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters that talks would continue over the weekend and into next week’s Presidents Day recess. He criticized Senate Democrats for blocking both the DHS funding bill and the proposed extension.
“What it appears to me, at least at this point, is happening is the Democrats, like they did last fall, they really don’t want the solution. They don’t want the answer. They want the political issue,” Thune said. “Negotiations will continue and we will see in the course of the next few days how serious they are.”
On the other side, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer expressed pride in his Democratic colleagues for standing together to block DHS funding while continuing to push for ICE reforms.
“Today’s strong vote was a shot across the bow to Republicans. Democrats will not support a blank check for chaos. This vote today asked a simple question: Will you rein in ICE’s abuses, or will you vote to extend the chaos? Republicans chose chaos and the Democrats, we refused,” Schumer said at a news conference.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries echoed those sentiments, stating Thursday that funding for DHS “should not move forward” unless there are “dramatic changes” made to ICE.
“ICE is completely and totally out of control. We know they need to be reined in now, without further delay,” Jeffries said.
Democrats are calling for several specific reforms, including requiring judicial warrants before ICE agents can enter private property, banning ICE agents from wearing face masks, mandating the use of body cameras, and enacting new use-of-force standards. So far, Democrats have rejected White House proposals for ICE reform.
Schumer repeatedly criticized the White House’s proposal as “not serious,” though he declined to provide details about its contents.
“Well, look, first, I’m not going to negotiate in public and get into the details. But second, their proposal is not serious, plain and simple. It is very far apart from what we need,” Schumer said.
ABC News has reached out to the White House for a response to statements from Schumer and Jeffries.
House Speaker Mike Johnson defended the latest White House proposal to fund DHS as “imminently reasonable.”
When asked about the impending shutdown during a White House event Thursday, President Trump said he last spoke with Schumer “a week ago” and suggested some Democratic demands are “very hard to approve,” without elaborating on specifics.
“We have to protect our law enforcement,” Trump said.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem accused Democrats of failing to prioritize national security.
“Every other portion of the federal government has been funded except Homeland Security. That’s telling the rest of the world the Democrat Party doesn’t think that protecting America is safe. It’s the wrong message to send,” Noem said during a press conference in California.
ABC News reporters Lauren Peller, John Parkinson, Justin Gomez, Luke Barr, and Nicholas Kerr contributed to this report.
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/dhs-shutdown-lawmakers-leave-washington-deal/story?id=130114064