Senate Republicans tee up key shutdown test vote as Democrats dig in on DHS funding

Senate Republicans are marching forward with a massive funding package to avert a partial government shutdown despite Senate Democrats doubling down on their resistance to the Homeland Security funding bill.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., on Tuesday teed up a key test vote for the six-bill package for Thursday. The move allows Senate Republicans time to hash out a deal with Senate Democrats, who are demanding several restrictions on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Republicans are eager to find a middle ground that doesn’t involve modifying the current funding package given that doing so would almost guarantee a government shutdown and jeopardize funding to several other federal agencies, including the Pentagon.

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But Democrats aren’t willing to budge, for now, until the DHS bill is stripped and sidelined.

Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins, R-Maine, said she spoke with DHS Secretary Kristi Noem Monday but wouldn’t reveal details of the conversation.

Collins, whose home state is also a target of Noem and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), noted there were already bipartisan restrictions and reforms baked into the current DHS funding bill, like $20 million for body cams and numerous reporting requirements that, if not met, would halt money flowing to immigration operations.

But more could be done if needed.

"I think there might be a way to add some further reforms or procedural protections, but those discussions are ongoing and really involve [Thune]," Collins said.

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Senate Democrats’ rapid unity against the bill came after the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by a Border Patrol agent in Minneapolis over the weekend. Roughly two weeks before that, Renee Nicole Good was fatally shot by an ICE agent in her vehicle.

"I understand how this has changed the conversation, but I still think if there are things the Democrats want in the Homeland bill or addressed in the context of the situation that they ought to make those clear and known and see to what degree the administration may be able to address them," Thune said. "So, I would prefer that there be a way that we keep the package together."

But Senate Democrats appear ready to reject any executive action taken by the administration or President Donald Trump on the matter. 

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., argued on the Senate floor that the "Senate must not pass the DHS budget as currently written." 

"And it must be reworked to rein in and overhaul ICE to ensure the public's safety," Schumer said. "The fix should come from Congress. The public can't trust the administration to do the right thing on its own."

Even if Senate Democrats are successful in their gambit and halt the DHS funding bill, the agency is still flush with billions in taxpayer dollars after Republicans’ passage of President Donald Trump's signature "big, beautiful bill" last year.

Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., said during a virtual news conference that, given that reality, Democrats "have to try no matter what."

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"Look, if [Noem] doesn't need the money, then she doesn't need the money, but we can still have some legitimate restrictions on how these people are conducting themselves," Gallego said.

The other reality is that lawmakers are fast running out of time to concoct a solution by the Jan. 30 deadline.

Thursday’s vote, if successful, would tee up several hours of debate on the funding package in the Senate, eating away at valuable time and pushing final passage of the spending bills right to the midnight deadline.

The pressure created by the deadline and Democrats’ sudden reversal from just days before has Republicans scrambling.

Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., who chairs the Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Committee, will be a key figure in any deal that emerges since she helped bring an end to the previous shutdown last year.

She told reporters a "government shutdown does not help anyone" but noted a path forward "is yet to be determined."

"We're really going to have to put our heads together and figure out how we can make meaningful adjustments that would allow us to move these bills," Britt said. "And, so, that's what we are looking for."