DHS Is Headed for Shutdown

Negotiations to fund the agency will continue as the House and Senate leave Washington for a one-week recess.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer opposed a short term funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security, arguing the White House’s proposal to reform immigration enforcement operations was insufficient.
(J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

The Senate on Thursday failed to advance a measure to fund the Department of Homeland Security for a full year, 52-47, leaving the agency on track for a shutdown when funding expires Friday night.

Lawmakers left Washington after most Democrats voted to block the House-passed funding bill for DHS. The vote came as the White House and Senate Democrats, chiefly Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, continue to negotiate the specifics of a full-year funding bill that contains provisions to change immigration enforcement operations.

Democrats demanded these reforms after two U.S. citizens were shot and killed by federal agents in Minneapolis. Though Border czar Tom Homan said Thursday morning that the immigration enforcement surge taking place in Minnesota will end, Democrats had already rejected the most recent proposal offered Wednesday night by the White House.