Government hurtles toward a shutdown after fatal shooting

The US government is nearing a partial shutdown over the weekend after federal immigration agents shot and killed a US citizen in Minnesota on Saturday – the second such incident this month.

The Senate is set to vote this week on a massive $1.2 trillion House-approved package that would fund the Department of Homeland Security and a broad swath of government before a Jan. 30 deadline. But the shooting of 37-year-old critical care nurse Alex Pretti in Minneapolis now threatens to derail the funding package, with a growing number of Democrats warning they will oppose it unless funding for the Department of Homeland Security is cut.

“Democrats sought common-sense reforms in the Department of Homeland Security spending bill, but with Republicans refusing to stand up to President Trump, the DHS bill is woefully inadequate to rein in ICE abuses. I will vote no,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-Year) said in a statement Saturday night.

“Senate Democrats will not provide the votes to advance the appropriations bill if it is included in the DHS funding bill,” he said.

The funding package needs 60 votes to overcome the filibuster and pass the Senate. Republicans hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate, meaning Democratic support would be needed to pass the measure. Two of the 47 are independents who caucus with Democrats.

Some Democrats were already opposed to the funding measure, which would cover the Departments of Defense in addition to DHS; Health and Human Services; workforce; Housing and Urban Development; public transportation; Education; State and Treasury.

But Pretti’s death is quickly galvanizing Democratic opposition to the measure.

“Federal agents can’t kill people in broad daylight and face zero consequences,” said Senate Appropriations ranking member Patty Murray, D-Wash. X on Saturday. “I will NOT support the DHS bill in its current form. The DHS bill needs to be separated from the larger funding package before the Senate; Republicans should work with us to do this.”

It’s unclear whether the Senate could separate the DHS portion from the rest of the funding bill to minimize a partial shutdown. While the House passed the DHS bill separately from other bills, they were all combined into a single bill to be sent to the Senate; This meant that a majority of Republicans had to support splitting the bill.

The House, which left Washington for a pre-scheduled recess last week, will likely need to return to approve the Senate’s amendments.

Making things even more complicated is the massive snowstorm that hit Washington, D.C. and large swaths of the United States. The Senate canceled votes Monday because of the storm, shortening an already tight timeline to avoid a shutdown.

This story is developing. Please check back for updates.