Senate passes Trump-backed Govt funding deal
The Senate voted on Friday to fund most of the Government through the end of September while carving out a temporary extension for Homeland Security funding, giving Congress two weeks to debate new restrictions on federal immigration raids across the country. With a weekend shutdown looming, President Donald Trump struck a spending deal with Senate Democrats on Thursday in the wake of the deaths of two protesters at the hands of federal agents in Minneapolis.
Democrats said they would not vote for the larger spending bill unless Congress considers legislation to unmask agents, require more warrants and allow local authorities to help investigate any incidents. “The nation is reaching a breaking point,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said after the vote. “The American people are demanding that Congress step up and
force change.” As lawmakers in both parties called for investigations into the fatal shootings, Trump said he didn’t want a shutdown and negotiated the rare deal with Schumer, his frequent adversary. Trump then encouraged members of both parties to cast a “much needed Bipartisan YES’ vote.” The bill passed 71-29 and will now head to the House, which is not due back until Monday. That means the Government could be in a partial shutdown temporarily over the weekend until they pass it.
Speaker Mike Johnson, who held a conference call on Friday with GOP lawmakers, said he expects the House to vote Monday evening. But what is uncertain is how much support there will be for the package. Johnson’s right flank has signalled opposition to limits on Homeland Security funds, leaving him reliant on Democrats who have their own objections to funding US Immigration and Customs Enforcement without immediate restraints.
Two-week debate over It was unclear how involved Trump would be in the negotiations over new restrictions on immigration arrests — or if Republicans and Democrats could find any points of compromise. Senate Democrats will not support an extension of Homeland Security funding in two weeks “unless it reins in ICE and ends violence,” Schumer said. “If our colleagues are not willing to enact real change, they should not expect Democratic votes.”
Similarly, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters that any change in the homeland bill needs to be “meaningful and it needs to be transformative.” Absent “dramatic change,” Jeffries said, “Republicans will get another shutdown.” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-SD, said the two sides will “sit down in good faith,” but it will be “really, really hard to get anything done,” especially in such a short amount of time. “We’ll stay hopeful, but there are some pretty significant differences of opinion,” Thune said. Irate Democrats have asked the White House to “end roving patrols” in cities and coordinate with local law enforcement on immigration arrests, including requiring tighter rules
for warrants. They also want an enforceable code of conduct so agents are held accountable when they violate rules. Schumer said agents should be required to have “masks off, body cameras on” and carry proper identification, as is common practice in most law enforcement agencies. Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse, was killed by a border patrol agent on Jan. 24, two weeks after protester Renee Good was killed by an ICE officer. President Donald Trump speaking during an event in the Oval Office.
