The federal government is poised to have a partial shutdown at the end of the week after nearly all Senate Democrats, led by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, said in statements that they won’t support the final appropriations package if Homeland Security funding is not stripped out before a vote.
The noteworthy statements from Senate Democrats came hours after federal immigration officials in Minnesota killed Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen Saturday in a shooting recorded and posted online by bystanders. The footage led to public scrutiny of the operations of the Department of Homeland Security from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.
“Senate Democrats will not allow the current DHS funding bill to move forward,” Schumer said in a statement Sunday. “Senate Republicans must work with Democrats to advance the other five funding bills while we work to rewrite the DHS bill. This is best course of action, and the American people are on our side.”