Schumer calls on Senate GOP to scrap DHS funding bill
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer urged Republicans to abandon teh current Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding bill and rather rewrite it — while advancing the other five appropriations bills — after recent deadly shootings involving immigration officers in minneapolis. Schumer cited the killings of Alex Pretti by a Border Patrol agent and Renee Good by an ICE officer as evidence that ICE and CBP need an overhaul and said Republicans should work with Democrats on changes. Senators Catherine Cortez Masto and Jack Reed have proposed dropping the DHS measure and moving forward with the remaining funding bills. The government funding deadline is Jan. 30, and the Senate faces limited time this week (it will be out Monday due to a winter storm), raising the prospect of at least a partial shutdown if no agreement is reached. Passage will be difficult given the GOP’s narrow Senate majority and the 60-vote threshold typically required for appropriations; Senate leaders were contacted for comment.
Schumer calls on Senate GOP to scrap DHS funding bill to avoid shutdown
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) reiterated his promise to oppose funding the Department of Homeland Security and suggested to “rewrite” the appropriations bill instead, as another possible government shutdown looms large this week.
Schumer voiced his opposition to the DHS funding bill after 37-year-old Alex Pretti was shot and killed by a Border Patrol agent during an immigration operation on Saturday in Minneapolis. The fatal shooting is the second officer-involved incident in the city this month after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot and killed Renee Good on Jan. 7.
“Senate Republicans have seen the same horrific footage that all Americans have watched of the blatant abuses of Americans by ICE in Minnesota. The appalling murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti on the streets of Minneapolis must lead Republicans to join Democrats in overhauling ICE and CBP to protect the public,” Schumer said in a statement on Sunday. “Senate Republicans must work with Democrats to advance the other five funding bills while we work to rewrite the DHS bill. This is [the] best course of action, and the American people are on our side.”
Schumer echoed the proposals from Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) and Jack Reed (D-RI), who suggested dropping the bill and instead pass the other five. Other Democratic senators have suggested reworking the current DHS bill that narrowly passed the House last week, though time is running out.
The deadline to fund the government is Jan. 30, and the Senate is out of session on Monday due to the winter storm affecting the Northeast. Should the upper chamber not reach a consensus on the bill by the end of this week, there will be at least a partial government shutdown — and the second one in recent months.
Late last year, debate over expiring COVID-era Obamacare subsidies led to the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, lasting 43 days.
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That shutdown fight ended with a bipartisan agreement to negotiate the subsidies, and the Senate will need another given Democrats’ stated opposition to DHS funding, the Senate GOP’s narrow majority, and the 60-vote threshold needed to pass appropriations bills.
The Washington Examiner has reached out to Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) for comment.
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