Schumer: Democrats will block funding package if it includes homeland security money | US politics

Following another fatal shooting of a U.S. citizen in Minnesota by a federal officer, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said Saturday night that his party would block a funding package next week if it included money for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

The announcement, which significantly increases the risk of another partial government shutdown, comes as anger toward DHS, which oversees Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), is growing within the party after a group of federal agents violently subdued and then fatally shot Alex Pretti, 37, an intensive care nurse, in Minneapolis on Saturday morning.

“What is happening in Minnesota is appalling – and unacceptable in any American city,” Schumer, a senator from New York, said in a statement. “Democrats sought common-sense reforms in the Department of Homeland Security spending bill, but because of Republicans’ refusal to stand up to President Trump, the DHS bill is woefully insufficient to curb ICE abuses. I will vote no.”

“Senate Democrats will not provide the votes to proceed with the appropriations bill if the DHS funding bill is included,” he added.

The Senate is expected to pass this spending measure as part of a broader legislative package that would fund large parts of the government, including the ministries of defense, state, education, labor and transportation. The package, which currently provides $64.4 billion for DHS, including $10 billion for ICE, needs 60 votes to avoid a filibuster and pass the Senate. Republicans currently control 53 seats and would need Democratic support to pass the bipartisan package.

The impending vote was seen as a potentially painful decision for many Democratic senators, hesitant to trigger another government shutdown just months after a painful 43-day budget showdown — the longest in the nation’s history — that ultimately failed to secure an extension of health care subsidies.

But in the hours after the fatal shooting, several Democrats came forward to announce their opposition, including some who until now appeared ready to vote for the funding plan.

“The Trump administration and Kristi Noem are putting combative, under-trained federal agents on the streets with no accountability,” Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto said in a statement. “They are oppressing Americans and at odds with local law enforcement. This is clearly not about keeping Americans safe. This is about brutalizing law-abiding American citizens and immigrants.”

Last year, Cortez Masto was among a handful of Democrats who broke ranks and repeatedly voted to keep the government open.

Jacky Rosen, the other Nevada senator who also stood up to his party during the shutdown, wrote on and transparency.”

Mark Warner, Democratic Senator from Virginia, wrote: “I cannot and will not vote to defund DHS while this administration continues these violent federal takeovers of our cities. »

In a sign of Democrats’ fury, Washington Sen. Patty Murray, a ranking member of the Appropriations Committee that negotiated the funding plan, announced she would not support the plan as currently written.

“Federal agents cannot murder people in broad daylight and face no consequences. I will NOT support the DHS bill as it is,” she said on

It was unclear whether Senate Republicans were willing to separate the DHS funding measure from the rest of the package, which would likely get significant bipartisan support. On Saturday, many Republicans defended the officer and the department in the aftermath of the shooting.

Senate Democrats were scheduled to meet Sunday to discuss next steps.

The funding bill narrowly passed the Republican-controlled House on Thursday, overcoming a Democratic revolt following the death of Renee Good, who was shot and killed by an ICE agent in Minneapolis earlier this month.

Seven Democrats, however, helped nearly all Republicans cross the finish line. Explaining their support, several Democrats sharply denounced ICE’s behavior in U.S. cities but argued that the funding bill contained hard-won concessions, including funding for body cameras and de-escalation training for ICE agents.

But Republicans rejected other proposals sought by Democrats, including measures that would have required court warrants for entry into homes and a provision explicitly banning the use of funds to detain or deport U.S. citizens.