With a partial shutdown hours away, President Trump and Senate Democrats say they have a deal to keep most of the federal government open while isolating a fight over immigration enforcement. Under the agreement, a broad spending package would be approved funding most domestic and defense agencies through September. Department of Homeland Security funding would be split into a separate bill, the Washington Post reports. DHS would be kept at current funding levels for two weeks as Democrats and Republicans negotiate new limits on immigration enforcement, a Democratic demand since the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis. GOP Sen. Markwayne Mullin said votes could take place Thursday night, per the New York Times.
Trump posted that both parties had "come together" on the plan and urged a "Bipartisan 'YES' Vote." Lawmakers were still negotiating on ways to limit the actions of immigration agents. And the Senate was canvassing members Thursday evening for objections; swift passage would require unanimous consent. Even if the chamber acts, a brief lapse in funding is still possible because the House is not scheduled to return until Monday. Speaker Mike Johnson faces a narrow majority and resistance from House Freedom Caucus members opposed to altering the existing bill, while some Democrats are reluctant to back even a short DHS extension without firm commitments on policy changes.
The package would fund the departments of Defense, Health and Human Services, Education, Labor, Housing and Urban Development, Treasury, Transportation, and State. Republicans and Democrats negotiated the deal before Pretti was killed last weekend; it allocates $64.4 billion for DHS, $10 billion of which would go to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Senate Democrats insisted on the two-week limit, per the Post. "People are getting killed in Minneapolis," Sen. Chris Murphy told reporters. "We need to show some urgency about fixing the problem."
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