Senate Democrats Vow to Fast-Track Five Bills Before Shutdown Deadline, Reject DHS Funding
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., stated Monday that his party remains committed to fast-tracking five appropriations bills before Friday’s deadline to avoid a partial government shutdown. However, he emphasized Senate Democrats are unwilling to pass funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which is central to the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement efforts.
A second fatal shooting this month involving a federal law enforcement officer and a protester occurred Saturday in Minneapolis, heightening concerns among congressional Democrats about DHS funding.
“Senate Democrats have made clear we are ready to quickly advance the five appropriations bills separately from the DHS funding bill before the January 30th deadline,” Schumer said in a statement, according to The Hill. “The responsibility to prevent a partial government shutdown is on Leader [John] Thune [R-S.D.] and Senate Republicans.”
“If Leader Thune puts those five bills on the floor this week, we can pass them right away. If not, Republicans will again be responsible for another government shutdown,” Schumer added.
Senate GOP leaders, however, expect to move forward as planned with a six-bill funding package that includes DHS. Republicans and the White House have reached out to Senate Democrats about how to proceed, but a Senate Democratic leadership aide, who spoke anonymously, said they have not proposed “realistic solutions.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt stated Monday that the president supports bipartisan work on advancing appropriations packages but warned immigration discussions should not compromise government funding. “We are in the midst of the storm that took place over the weekend, and many Americans are still being impacted by that,” Leavitt said during a live briefing on Newsmax. “We absolutely do not want to see that funding lapse.”
The House and Senate have already passed six of 12 annual appropriations bills. The House approved the remaining six last week in batches, bundling them into a single package for Senate review. Senate Democrats argue that passing all but DHS funding independently would keep nearly the entire federal government open while leaving only DHS unfunded.
Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., who voted with Republicans every time to reopen the government during the October 1 shutdown, called for an end to ICE operations in Minneapolis following two recent fatalities. “A vote to shut our government down will not defund ICE,” Fetterman said. “DHS has $178 billion in funding from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which I did not vote for. I reject calls to defund or abolish ICE.”
The House, currently in recess after passing its appropriations package, would need to return to approve any Senate changes before the shutdown deadline.
