WASHINGTON — A sweeping government funding package is facing new hurdles in the Senate after another person was shot and killed by a federal officer on Saturday in Minnesota, raising the specter of a potential shutdown next Friday at midnight.
The legislation needs 60 votes to secure passage in the chamber, where Republicans control 53 seats. And a number of key Democrats who have voted for recent appropriations measures said they’ll vote against funding the Department of Homeland Security unless restrictions are put on how immigration officers carry out enforcement operations.
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The package, which has passed the House, is slated to come up for a Senate vote this week.
Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., who broke with her party and opposed its recent shutdown standoff over the Affordable Care Act, said she won’t support the DHS measure.
“The Trump Administration and Kristi Noem are putting undertrained, combative federal agents on the streets with no accountability. They are oppressing Americans and are at odds with local law enforcement,” Cortez Masto said in a statement. “This is clearly not about keeping Americans safe, it’s brutalizing U.S. citizens and law-abiding immigrants. I will not support the current Homeland Security funding bill.”
Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., who, like Rosen, was one of the eight Senate Democrats who voted to re-open the government in November, also came out against the DHS legislation.
“As a member of the U.S. Senate, I have the responsibility to hold the Trump Administration accountable when I see abuses of power — like we are seeing from ICE right now,” Rosen said in a statement. “That is why I’ll be voting against any government funding package that contains the bill that funds this agency, until we have guardrails in place to curtail these abuses of power and ensure more accountability and transparency.”
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., another one of the eight Democrats who voted for the November bill, came out against the current package one day before the Minnesota shooting. He said Congress shouldn’t validate a president who is “acting chaotically and unlawfully” and wants “significant amendment” to it.
Numerous Republican senators defended DHS after the killing of the man, identified as Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse serving veterans.
But the department’s actions also sparked heavy criticism from Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, who negotiated funding package.
“This looks like an execution. There must be an investigation. There must be accountability,” Murray said on X. “Joining ICE does not give you license to murder. The President is escalating the situation—and I have no faith he will stop. The Republican Congress must join us to end this. Enough.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., wrote on X: “ICE out of Minnesota NOW.”
The legislation funds ICE at current levels, but without the guardrails and restraints that Democrats had demanded on how immigration officers may carry out enforcement.
“I am voting against any funding for DHS until and unless more controls are put in place to hold ICE accountable,” Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, said in a statement. “These repeated incidents of violence across the country are unlawful, needlessly escalatory, and making all of us less safe.”
The non-DHS funding measures are less controversial and include various provisions that Democrats count as victories, including money for child care, mental health, housing assistance and Pell Grants. Some Democrats, including Cortez Masto, are calling for DHS money to be decoupled and voted on separately.
But there’s no indication that GOP leaders will do that. A spokesperson for Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said they will come up as one bill.
Another complication for Democrats is that Republicans passed a one-time infusion of $170 billion for immigration enforcement, including ICE, which would be legally available for the Trump administration to spend even if DHS funding lapses.
Republicans will need at least seven Democrats — probably eight, if Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., continues his streak of voting against appropriations bills — to pass any measure.
Additional Democrats said they’ll oppose the DHS funding bill include Sens. Ruben Gallego of Arizona, Mark Kelly of Arizona and Mark Warner of Virginia.
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., re-emphasized his opposition to funding DHS without restraints on officers.
“The Senate should not vote to keep funding this rampage,” he said Saturday on X. “We are not powerless. We do not need to accept this.”
