Senate Republicans are considering measures to avert a partial government shutdown as the chamber prepares to vote on a funding package that would finance multiple federal agencies for the remainder of the fiscal year. Voting is set to begin Thursday morning, and failure to pass the legislation could result in a government shutdown effective Saturday at 12:01 ET.
The funding package includes allocations for key departments such as Homeland Security, Treasury, and Defense. However, following the recent death of U.S. citizen Alex Pretti at the hands of federal immigration agents in Minneapolis, Democratic senators are advocating to separate the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) portion from the overall package. This demand complicates the funding efforts, as Republicans have thus far resisted such a split.
On Wednesday, several Republican senators signaled willingness to divide the DHS component to facilitate passage of the other bills. Senator John Kennedy (R-La.) suggested that passing the rest of the bills could provide a way forward, while acknowledging potential bipartisan frustration with DHS. Senator John Hoeven (R-N.D.) noted that if Democrats block the package, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has indicated a readiness to move forward with the five other bills.
Democratic leadership, including Schumer, has outlined specific reforms they seek in the DHS budget, emphasizing the need for measures surrounding immigration enforcement, such as warrant requirements for arrests and body camera mandates for federal agents. Senator Angus King (I-Maine), who caucuses with Democrats, expressed that he could not support the DHS budget in its current form and called for reassessing the package.
Despite these disagreements, Senate Republicans intend to move ahead with votes on all six funding bills, with some acknowledging the possibility of revisiting the DHS section later. Any alterations to the original package would necessitate reapproval from the House of Representatives, which is currently on recess and is scheduled to return after the impending shutdown deadline.
If no action is taken, the repercussions of a shutdown could also affect the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) amid ongoing adverse weather conditions. However, DHS would maintain operational capabilities for immigration enforcement even during a shutdown, as significant supplemental funding was allocated previously.
Source: Reported based on publicly available information from www.cnbc.com.
