Government Shutdown Coming?
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said Wednesday that negotiations between the White House and Senate Democrats will determine whether the federal government shuts down this weekend.
With a key funding deadline set for Friday, Thune warned that failure to pass a major spending package could trigger a partial government shutdown affecting several critical federal agencies.
The six-bill funding package includes appropriations for the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Transportation, along with several other agencies.
Thune has been clear that Republicans do not want to break the package apart, arguing that doing so would complicate the process and increase the risk of a shutdown.
Democrats, however, are demanding that funding for the Department of Homeland Security be removed from the broader package. They say they will not support the DHS funding bill in its current form following the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by a Border Patrol agent in Minneapolis.
“At this point, the conversation should be between the White House and Democrats,” Thune told reporters.
According to the Senate GOP leader, Republicans are still unsure what specific changes Democrats are demanding in exchange for supporting the funding legislation.
“If they have requests, they should make them clear,” Thune said.
Thune stressed that the White House has already shown flexibility and noted that the current bill includes several reforms Democrats previously pushed for. Those measures include additional funding for body cameras for Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and expanded de-escalation training for law enforcement personnel.
“There are already reforms included,” Thune said, adding that the legislation would actually spend less on ICE than a short-term continuing resolution would.
While acknowledging that limited concessions could still be discussed, Thune firmly rejected the idea of splitting the Homeland Security funding from the rest of the package.
“If there’s a way to address concerns without breaking the bill apart, that’s the best approach,” he said. “The goal has to be keeping the government funded.”
Earlier Wednesday, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) renewed his call for the Senate to move forward without the Homeland Security funding measure.
Speaking on the Senate floor, Schumer urged Republicans to pass the remaining five spending bills separately, arguing they are already prepared for approval.
“The path forward is simple,” Schumer said. “Five of these bills are ready to go.”
Schumer claimed that if Republicans agreed to remove the DHS funding bill, Democrats would support legislation funding roughly 96 percent of the federal government.
However, he argued that the Homeland Security appropriations bill “needs more work” in light of recent events. Schumer also called on Republicans to work with Democrats to overhaul Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection—both of which are funded through DHS.
The House of Representatives has already passed all six spending bills and sent them to the Senate as a single package. House leaders previously approved the measures in multiple groupings before consolidating them.
As the shutdown deadline approaches, the standoff highlights a familiar Washington pattern: Democrats pushing to use must-pass spending bills to force policy changes, while Republicans warn that political brinkmanship could disrupt essential government operations and services Americans rely on every day.
