Senate Democrats Tie DHS Funding to ICE Reforms After Alex Pretti Killing as Friday Shutdown Deadline Nears
After the Minneapolis killing of Alex Pretti by a Border Patrol agent, Senate Democrats have vowed not to advance a six‑bill appropriations package that includes Homeland Security funding unless statutory ICE and CBP reforms — proposals range from warrant and identification requirements to limits on interior enforcement, body cameras and stricter reporting — are written into the DHS bill. With the Jan. 30/Friday funding deadline days away, the impasse raises a real prospect of a partial government shutdown as Republicans push to keep DHS inside the minibus and Democrats dig in for binding changes.
📌 Key Facts
- Lawmakers face a tight Jan. 30 FY2026 funding deadline: the Senate returns with only days to resolve remaining appropriations, and leaders have teed up a key test vote this week, making a partial short‑term continuing resolution or shutdown increasingly possible.
- Congress is moving the remaining appropriations as bundled 'minibus' packages: an earlier three‑bill package (~$174–175 billion) has passed, and a six‑bill minibus now under consideration would fund roughly four‑fifths of the federal government and is valued at roughly $1.2–$1.3 trillion overall.
- The Homeland Security (DHS) title is the most politically fraught and was pulled from earlier packages; the current DHS text totals about $64 billion (including roughly $32B for FEMA, $11.6B for TSA, $2.6B for CISA and about $10B for ICE) and contains provisions such as $20 million for body cameras, new de‑escalation/public‑interaction training and reporting triggers that can halt certain immigration operations.
- Two recent fatal federal immigration‑enforcement shootings in Minneapolis — including the Jan. 24 killing of 37‑year‑old Alex Jeffrey Pretti (and the earlier death of Renee Nicole Good) — hardened Democratic opposition and prompted Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and a growing list of Senate Democrats to say they will not provide votes to advance any spending package that includes the DHS title as currently written.
- Senate Democrats are conditioning support for DHS funding on statutory reforms to ICE and CBP, circulating a five‑point wishlist that includes requiring warrants for interior arrests, agents to clearly identify themselves, cooperation with state and local investigations, limiting CBP to border/port duties (not interior operations), and restricting immigration enforcement in sensitive locations; Democrats insist these changes be written into law rather than based on assurances.
- The political math is tight: multiple Senate Democrats (at least six to ten named publicly) are on record opposing the DHS text, Republicans hold a narrow Senate majority, and House GOP margins are slim — Speaker Mike Johnson can lose only a couple of GOP votes — so defections on either side could derail the package and force additional House action that leaders have not agreed to call.
- Practically speaking, much immigration enforcement funding is insulated by last summer’s large supplemental ('One Big Beautiful Bill'), so blocking the current DHS appropriation would more immediately threaten FEMA, TSA, CISA, Coast Guard and Secret Service operations than core ICE enforcement, a point emphasized by DHS and GOP critics of the Democratic strategy.
- With limited floor time (compounded by weather disruptions) and no consensus on rewriting the DHS text, congressional leaders have discussed options — splitting DHS out, passing the other bills, or using a short CR — but schedule and procedural constraints make some form of partial lapse in funding a real possibility this week.
📊 Analysis & Commentary (1)
JONATHAN TURLEY: Democrat politicians are risking lives with reckless anti-ICE rhetoric
"This opinion piece criticizes Democratic leaders’ public attacks on ICE/Border Patrol—especially comments by Minnesota officials—and argues that such rhetoric endangers officers and foments violent confrontations rather than responsibly advancing accountability."
🔬 Explanations (3)
Deeper context and explanatory frameworks for understanding this story
Phenomenon: Widespread fraud in Minnesota's social services programs, particularly federally funded ones involving community organizations
Explanation: Policy changes during the COVID-19 pandemic, including federal waivers that suspended verification, monitoring, and eligibility rules, created significant opportunities for fraudulent schemes to escalate rapidly
Evidence: Interrupted time-series analysis (ITSA) and ARIMA modeling show significant level and slope changes in fraud incidents and amounts post-March 2020 waivers, with expenditures increasing 3,676% in affected programs and 91.7% of offenses occurring in the waiver period
Alternative view: Structural decentralization in federal-state program administration leading to persistent oversight gaps even before the pandemic
💡 Challenges the implicit narrative of fraud as primarily due to administrative incompetence or community-specific issues by highlighting how emergency policy decisions at the federal level enabled systemic exploitation
Phenomenon: Disproportionate involvement of Somali-led organizations in Minnesota fraud scandals
Explanation: Structural factors including tight-knit community networks and economic integration barriers (such as poverty, discrimination, and informal financial systems) facilitated the diffusion of fraudulent techniques through social learning, intersecting with program vulnerabilities
Evidence: Network analysis reveals 75.3% connectivity among defendants, with high clustering coefficients and spatiotemporal patterns; general strain theory links economic pressures to criminal coping, while segmented assimilation theory explains how bonding social capital enables fraud diffusion without implying ethnic predisposition
Alternative view: Cultural factors like neutralization techniques rationalizing fraud as 'for family' or 'government waste', though the study emphasizes these are secondary to structural opportunities
💡 Complicates typical coverage's focus on individual or cultural blame by emphasizing sociological and systemic factors, refuting stereotypes through evidence like the 'immigrant paradox' of generally lower crime rates
Phenomenon: Political scrutiny and efforts to defund earmarks for minority-led organizations in Congress
Explanation: Institutional incentives in Congress drive partisan scrutiny of earmarks perceived as wasteful or favoring specific demographics, often reinforcing racialized stratification through selective targeting of projects benefiting minority communities
Evidence: Analysis of earmark distribution shows that while earmarks disproportionately benefit Black, Hispanic, and low-income areas, they face heightened scrutiny due to critiques of privileging politically connected groups, with data from 1994-2011 indicating patterns that weaken or reinforce inequality based on congressional dynamics
Alternative view: Economic interests where earmarks are viewed as contributing to budget deficits, leading to bans or amendments to redirect funds
💡 Differs from the story's implicit narrative of fraud prevention by revealing how such scrutiny may perpetuate racial disparities in funding allocation rather than solely addressing accountability
📰 Source Timeline (34)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
January 28, 2026
2:03 PM
Democrats call for ICE reforms as partial government shutdown looms
New information:
- CBS segment reiterates that Senate Democrats are explicitly conditioning support for DHS funding on reforms to ICE after the killing of Alex Pretti in Minnesota.
- It restates that the Senate has until Friday to pass the DHS funding bill to avoid a partial shutdown, underscoring the immediacy of the deadline.
- The video framing emphasizes that Democrats are focusing their leverage specifically on ICE oversight within DHS, not on other DHS components.
10:00 AM
It’s not whether there will be a shutdown — it’s how much of government will close
New information:
- Democrats now say a partial shutdown is 'likely' with less than 72 hours to go, shifting the question from whether to shut down to how many agencies and for how long.
- Speaker Mike Johnson has signaled no plans to recall the House from recess even if the Senate changes the six‑bill package, increasing the odds that all six departments will lose funding.
- Republican leaders are explicitly pressing Senate Democrats to pass the entire six‑bill, $1.3 trillion package without changes, while Democrats insist any DHS limits must be written into law because they do not trust a handshake deal with Trump.
- Sen. Tim Kaine and other Democrats are publicly pressing to split off DHS and pass the other five bills, but that maneuver would still require a new House vote that Johnson has not offered.
- The article quantifies the scope of impact: roughly four‑fifths of federal agency budgets are covered by the stalled six‑bill package.
January 27, 2026
11:31 PM
Senate Republicans tee up key shutdown test vote as Democrats dig in on DHS funding
New information:
- Senate Majority Leader John Thune has formally teed up a key test vote on a six‑bill funding package, including DHS, for Thursday, creating a concrete timeline before the partial‑shutdown deadline.
- Thune and GOP leaders publicly signal they want to keep the DHS bill inside the broader package and are looking for a 'middle ground' that avoids rewriting the current DHS text, which they say could make a shutdown more likely.
- Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins says she spoke directly with DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and notes the current DHS bill already contains bipartisan reforms such as $20 million for body cameras and reporting requirements that can halt immigration operations if unmet, while leaving the door open to 'further reforms or procedural protections.'
- Chuck Schumer hardens the Democratic position on the floor, insisting the DHS bill 'must be reworked to rein in and overhaul ICE' and that the fix must come from Congress rather than executive action.
- The piece underlines that even if Democrats succeed in blocking the DHS bill, DHS remains 'flush with billions' from Trump’s previously enacted 'big, beautiful bill,' a reality Sen. Ruben Gallego acknowledges while saying Democrats 'have to try no matter what.'
6:57 PM
Democrats in Congress consider partial shutdown over ICE
New information:
- Reports that, after initially limited support, the entire Senate Democratic caucus is now backing a strategy to block the six‑bill appropriations package if it includes the current DHS funding bill.
- Direct quote from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer saying he will vote no and that Senate Democrats will not provide the votes to proceed to the appropriations bill if DHS funding is included because it is 'woefully inadequate to rein in the abuses of ICE.'
- Clarifies that at least seven Democrats would be needed to reach 60 votes in the 53‑vote Republican Senate and that, with current opposition, a partial government shutdown at week’s end is now a 'real possibility.'
- Frames the shift as a direct response not only to the Renee Good killing but to the subsequent fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, which hardened Democratic resistance.
5:55 PM
The details of a Democratic wishlist take shape for the Homeland Security funding bill
New information:
- Sen. Chris Murphy has publicly outlined a five‑item reform package circulating among Senate Democrats as conditions for supporting DHS funding.
- Elements include: requiring federal immigration officers to obtain warrants for arrests, requiring agents to clearly identify themselves, requiring DHS to cooperate with state and local investigations, limiting CBP officers to border and port duties rather than interior operations, and restricting immigration enforcement in sensitive locations such as schools and houses of worship.
- Schumer has framed these as "common sense reforms," and Murphy says the package "unites a lot of Democrats," clarifying the policy content behind the funding threat.
3:24 PM
Dems' DHS shutdown threat would hit FEMA, TSA while immigration funding remains intact
New information:
- DHS says the contested FY 2026 appropriations bill totals $64 billion, with roughly $32B for FEMA, $11.6B for TSA, $2.6B for CISA and $10B for ICE.
- Trump’s 'One Big Beautiful Bill' previously injected more than $170B into DHS, including a $75B multi‑year boost for ICE alone: about $45B earmarked for detention expansion and roughly $29B for enforcement operations.
- The $45B detention pot is structured to last through FY 2029, effectively giving ICE about $10B a year—on top of its base budget—without further congressional approval, insulating core immigration operations from a near‑term DHS shutdown fight.
- DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin explicitly argues that Schumer’s maneuver would mainly block funding for FEMA’s response to a 'historic snowstorm that is affecting 250 million Americans,' plus TSA, CISA, Coast Guard and Secret Service, while leaving immigration enforcement 'flush with cash.'
January 25, 2026
1:27 AM
Senate Democrats come out against DHS funding after Minnesota shooting
New information:
- Reports that Senate Democrats had been prepared to pass a six‑bill appropriations package funding all remaining agencies, including DHS, until the fatal shooting of Alex Jeffrey Pretti.
- Schumer’s on‑record statement that he will vote no on any government spending package that includes DHS funding and that Senate Democrats will not provide the votes to advance the six‑bill package if DHS remains in it.
- Details that the six‑bill package funds more than four‑fifths of the federal government and that stripping DHS out would require the House to return from recess and pass a revised bill, complicated by a major winter storm shortening the week.
- Specific DHS bill numbers: about $10 billion for ICE in 2026 on top of $75 billion from last summer’s reconciliation law, an approximate $115 million (2%) cut to ICE enforcement and removal operations, and $20 million for DHS body cameras.
- Clarification that only seven House Democrats voted for the DHS bill earlier in the week while 206 opposed it, and that several moderate Senate Democrats who were previously willing to tolerate DHS funding have shifted after Pretti’s killing.
1:09 AM
Senate Dems revolt against DHS funding bill amid Minneapolis chaos, hiking government shutdown risk
New information:
- Confirms that the fatal Jan. 24 Minneapolis shooting victim was 37‑year‑old Alex Pretti, a U.S. citizen, killed by a Border Patrol agent during an immigration enforcement operation.
- Details that the DHS appropriations bill is packaged with five other spending bills in a six‑bill minibus, so pulling DHS out would force the entire package back through the House.
- Notes that an arctic storm has already forced the Senate to cancel Monday votes, tightening the calendar ahead of the Jan. 30 funding deadline.
- Quotes a senior Senate aide saying Democrats had previously praised the bipartisan process and agreed to the contents of the bills, underscoring how abrupt the revolt is.
- Clarifies that the current DHS bill would fully fund the agency but includes triggers that shut off certain funds if reporting requirements are not met.
1:09 AM
Senate Democrats will not provide votes to advance DHS funding bill, Schumer says
New information:
- Chuck Schumer publicly states Senate Democrats "will not provide the votes" to proceed to the appropriations package if the DHS funding bill is included and says he personally will vote no.
- Article confirms Republicans will likely need eight Democratic votes to advance the package and notes Sen. Rand Paul is expected to oppose it, tightening the margin.
- Names a specific list of Democratic senators (Rosen, Cortez Masto, Kaine, Warren, Kelly, Murphy, Schatz, Warner, Baldwin, Andy Kim, Padilla) now on record opposing the DHS bill.
- Reports that Sens. Murphy and Padilla have been actively whipping opposition calls for the past two days and that Senate Democrats will hold a caucus call Sunday to coordinate strategy.
- Adds that leading House progressives such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rep. Jasmine Crockett are publicly urging the Senate to reject DHS funding and citing both Minneapolis shootings.
- Ties Schumer’s move explicitly to Saturday’s killing of ICU nurse Alex Jeffrey Pretti by a Border Patrol agent in Minneapolis, the second fatal federal shooting of a U.S. citizen there this month.
January 24, 2026
11:09 PM
Minneapolis shooting hardens Democrats on government shutdown
New information:
- At least six Senate Democrats — Catherine Cortez Masto, Jacky Rosen, Tim Kaine, Mark Warner, Mark Kelly and Brian Schatz — are now on record as 'no' votes on the current DHS funding bill because of ICE/Border Patrol operations after the latest Minneapolis killing.
- Sens. Chris Murphy and Alex Padilla have spent the last two days actively whipping colleagues against DHS funding 'as is', demanding reforms such as warrant requirements for arrests and banning masked agents.
- Axios reports open concern inside the Trump White House that 'there's no way any Democrat can vote for Homeland Security funding as is,' acknowledging the political problem.
- House Democrats who voted for a standalone DHS bill (e.g., Vicente Gonzalez, Don Davis) explain they did so to keep Coast Guard and FEMA money flowing even though ICE operations would continue regardless because of prior 'One Big Beautiful Bill' funding.
6:27 PM
Furious Democrats float national guard, government shutdown over latest Minneapolis shooting
New information:
- A new fatal shooting by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis shows agents tackling a man before an agent appears to fire multiple rounds as he lies on the ground; Minneapolis Police confirm the man died.
- DHS publicly claims on X that the man approached Border Patrol officers with a 9mm handgun, that officers attempted to disarm him, he 'violently resisted,' and an agent then fired 'defensive shots.'
- Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called on Senate Democrats to block DHS funding, 'activate the National Guard,' and 'stop this,' explicitly tying the shooting to legislative and security responses.
- Rep. Seth Magaziner said the Senate should reject the DHS funding bill next week until 'significant reforms' are added and called for a 'complete overhaul' of ICE and CBP.
- Rep. Robin Kelly is using the incident to press colleagues to sign on to her impeachment articles against DHS Secretary Kristi Noem; Rep. Yassamin Ansari called to 'abolish ICE' and impeach Noem.
- Rep. Henry Cuellar, a centrist Democrat who voted for the House DHS bill, issued a more cautious statement calling for a 'thorough and independent investigation with full transparency.'
- Sen. Chris Murphy publicly wrote 'Congress should not fund this version of ICE,' signaling some Senate Democrats are willing to risk a shutdown over ICE/CBP constraints.
- Axios notes that all but six House Democrats opposed the DHS funding bill and that the Senate vote will be complicated because DHS funding is bundled with Defense and HHS, meaning blocking it would partially shut down the government.
January 23, 2026
5:28 PM
Senate Democrats rebel against their own leadership over DHS funding package, increasing shutdown odds
New information:
- Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., announced he will not back the broader funding package, saying it lacks sufficient constraints on President Trump’s war powers, firing authority over federal workers, and DHS/ICE retaliation against Virginia.
- A source told Fox News Digital that up to 10 Senate Democrats may refuse to vote for the package or GOP‑written funding bills generally, complicating the 60‑vote math.
- Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., a member of Schumer’s leadership and top Democrat on the Homeland Security Appropriations subcommittee, said he will not support the DHS bill, arguing it fails to adequately restrict DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and Trump despite his own role in negotiating it.
- The article underscores that only seven House Democrats supported the DHS bill on passage, signaling Schumer will face significant internal resistance as the package comes over from the House.
January 22, 2026
12:29 PM
House moves to finish government funding as Democrats decry Homeland Security bill
New information:
- House is scheduled Thursday to take up the final four FY2026 appropriations bills, including DHS, with the Jan. 30 partial‑shutdown deadline looming.
- House Democratic leaders Hakeem Jeffries, Katherine Clark and Pete Aguilar told their caucus they will oppose the Homeland Security title, citing Trump’s mass‑deportation push and the Minneapolis ICE shooting of Renee Good.
- The DHS bill keeps ICE funding roughly flat but adds limits on Secretary Kristi Noem’s ability to reprogram funds and includes $20 million earmarked for ICE and CBP body cameras and related changes.
- Appropriations Democrats like Rosa DeLauro and Pramila Jayapal argue the bill is not an 'improvement,' but Henry Cuellar and some moderates say it adds at least some oversight and intend to vote yes.
- Senate Appropriations Chair Patty Murray says Democrats must ultimately win more political power to seriously rein in DHS, signaling limited Senate leverage on this bill.
January 21, 2026
4:47 PM
ICE funding bill draws fire from left and right as shutdown deadline nears
New information:
- Details that the DHS title includes flat overall funding for ICE, some reductions in removal operations, and policy riders like mandatory body cameras and new public‑interaction training requirements for ICE officers.
- Conservative objections from Reps. Tim Burchett, Scott Perry and Andy Harris, including Harris’s criticism of language restricting DHS–HHS data‑sharing on unaccompanied minors.
- Rep. Ralph Norman plans to introduce four amendments to address GOP concerns, signaling an organized effort to rewrite parts of the DHS bill.
- Fox notes that with recent vacancies Republicans can lose only two votes on a party‑line bill, heightening the leverage of defectors in both directions.
3:22 PM
Scoop: House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries opposes bill funding DHS and ICE
New information:
- Axios reports, citing five sources, that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told Democrats in a closed-door caucus meeting he opposes the DHS funding bill.
- Rep. Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.), a swing-district member, publicly called himself a "hell no" on the DHS/ICE funding bill after the meeting.
- Some centrist and battleground-district Democrats remain undecided, leaving open the possibility the DHS bill could still pass on a bipartisan basis despite Jeffries' stance.
1:26 AM
How Mike Johnson plans to beat the deadline on a government shutdown
New information:
- House Speaker Mike Johnson plans to use the House rule on the four‑title minibus to create a single six‑title package for the Senate, forcing a take‑it‑or‑leave‑it vote on all six appropriations titles at once.
- Johnson will give Democrats a standalone House floor vote on the Homeland Security title, separating the controversial DHS/ICE funding decision from the broader six‑bill package procedurally.
- Sen. Chris Murphy is positioning himself as a leading Senate opponent, arguing Democrats are not obligated to support a bill that funds "the dystopian scenes" in Minneapolis and could allow DHS to replicate that playbook elsewhere.
January 20, 2026
11:53 PM
Ilhan Omar vows 'not to give ICE a single cent' in heated congressional funding fight
New information:
- Rep. Ilhan Omar posted on X that she 'will not vote to give ICE a single cent' and opposes 'blank checks' for what she calls a 'rogue agency that operates above the law.'
- Omar is explicitly tying her planned ‘no’ vote on the DHS portion of the $1.2 trillion minibus to ICE’s Minnesota enforcement surge and the shooting of Renee Good.
- The article underscores that progressives’ threatened rebellion is focused on ICE funding inside the DHS title, even as the broader four‑bill minibus is positioned as the last vehicle to avert a Jan. 30 shutdown.
5:22 PM
Congress unveils $1.2T spending bill as progressive revolt brews over ICE funding
New information:
- Confirms the combined four‑bill package totals roughly $1.2 trillion and is the final piece needed to avert a Jan. 30 shutdown.
- Specifies that the bill "keeps the $10 billion in funding for ICE appropriated in 2025" while reducing the agency’s budget for removals.
- Details that the DHS title includes $20 million for body cameras for Border Patrol officers plus new de‑escalation and public‑engagement training requirements.
- Quotes Rep. Rosa DeLauro acknowledging Democratic frustration with ICE but urging colleagues to weigh broader DHS functions like TSA, FEMA and Coast Guard.
- Quotes Rep. Ilhan Omar announcing the Congressional Progressive Caucus has adopted a formal position to oppose all funding for immigration enforcement in appropriations bills until reforms end "militarized policing practices."
- Notes Speaker Mike Johnson can lose only two GOP votes after the death of Rep. Doug LaMalfa and resignation of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, heightening leverage of both hard‑right Republicans and progressives.
2:25 PM
Lawmakers release final measures to fund government ahead of shutdown deadline
New information:
- House and Senate appropriators have released text of the final four‑bill FY2026 minibus covering Defense; Labor‑HHS‑Education; Transportation‑HUD; and Homeland Security.
- Democrats say they blocked GOP efforts to expand ICE’s annual budget, cut ICE detention funding and capacity, and reduced CBP’s budget by more than $1 billion compared with earlier GOP pushes.
- The bill adds new constraints on DHS’s ability to reprogram funds (particularly under a continuing resolution), adds reporting‑linked limits on using money for immigration enforcement, and earmarks $20 million for body cameras for immigration enforcement agents.
- House Democratic appropriators Patty Murray and Rosa DeLauro argue that alternatives — a continuing resolution or shutdown — would leave ICE with higher, less constrained funding locked in by last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
- House is expected to vote on the four‑bill package this week, with Homeland Security likely handled on a separate track, leaving the Senate only a few days before Jan. 30 to pass all six remaining appropriations bills and send them to the president.
January 16, 2026
1:07 AM
ICE reshapes the fight to avoid another government shutdown
New information:
- Axios reports that when the Senate returns from recess on Jan. 26 it will have only about a week to resolve DHS funding before a partial shutdown.
- Sen. Chris Murphy explicitly warns that 'a budget without any constraints on DHS isn't likely to get a lot of Democratic votes' and signals Democrats may not even support a straight DHS stopgap at current funding levels.
- Senate leaders John Thune and Chuck Schumer have both publicly dismissed the idea of another government shutdown, while Thune and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen say a short-term DHS funding extension is the likely endgame.
January 15, 2026
9:19 PM
Senate passes 3-bill partial funding package, sending it to Trump
New information:
- Confirms the Senate passed the three‑bill appropriations package funding Commerce, Justice, Interior and EPA on an 82–15 vote and sent it to President Trump.
- Clarifies that when the Senate returns from recess, six remaining appropriations bills will still need to be passed before the Jan. 30 deadline.
- Specifies that the House has now passed eight of the 12 annual spending bills, leaving Defense; Transportation; Housing and Urban Development; Labor; Health and Human Services; Education; and Homeland Security unresolved.
- Details that Homeland Security funding was expected to be in the House package but was pulled after an ICE officer fatally shot Renee Good in Minnesota.
- Quotes House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries saying Democrats in both chambers are demanding changes to the way ICE conducts itself as a condition for supporting DHS funding.
- Notes that DHS funding may end up as a standalone bill while other remaining measures are bundled together.
January 14, 2026
3:18 PM
DHS funding fight drives Senate scramble to avoid government shutdown
New information:
- Confirms the Senate is expected to pass the three‑bill minibus this week, bringing the total to six of twelve appropriations bills enacted.
- Quotes Majority Leader John Thune explicitly saying the Homeland Security bill is 'obviously the hardest one' and predicting it could be handled by a CR if no agreement is reached within about three weeks.
- Details that some Senate Democrats want to use the DHS bill to force new oversight and restrictions on ICE and CBP in response to Renee Nicole Good’s killing, a key reason the bill was stripped from the latest House package.
- Reports that Sen. Patty Murray publicly labeled a short‑term CR a 'slush fund' for President Trump and OMB Director Russ Vought, reflecting Democratic resistance to simply extending last year’s DHS funding levels.
January 12, 2026
11:51 PM
Senate advances $174B package as Minnesota ICE shooting fuels DHS funding fight
New information:
- Senate advanced the $174 billion three‑bill appropriations package on an 81–14 procedural vote, signaling broad bipartisan support.
- Lawmakers acknowledge they are unlikely to complete all 12 spending bills by the Jan. 30 deadline, making at least one short‑term continuing resolution effectively inevitable; Sen. John Kennedy calls a CR a certainty and frames the only question as its length.
- The House’s next $77 billion two‑bill bundle for Financial Services and National Security will still omit the contentious DHS appropriations bill, which leaders pulled from the package.
- Sen. Chris Murphy, citing the fatal ICE shooting of Renee Nicole Good in Minnesota, says he wants statutory constraints written into the DHS bill to rein in Border Patrol and related enforcement, sharpening the political fight over that title.
- Senate Majority Leader John Thune describes the DHS bill as the most politically fraught appropriations measure and suggests Minnesota fraud issues could be addressed through budget reconciliation rather than this appropriations track.
2:33 PM
DHS funding threatened as Congress rolls out $80B spending bill amid shutdown fears
New information:
- Congressional leaders have now unveiled a separate two‑bill, roughly $76–80 billion 'minibus' covering State Department/national security and Financial Services–General Government, distinct from the earlier three‑bill $174–175 billion minibus.
- This new package explicitly excludes Department of Homeland Security funding, which had been expected to be included, leaving DHS to be handled in separate negotiations.
- Democrats including Sen. Chris Murphy are openly threatening to block DHS appropriations unless Republicans agree to significant reforms in response to the Minneapolis ICE shooting, raising fresh shutdown risk specific to DHS.
- The State/Foreign Ops bill creates an $850 million 'America First Opportunity Fund' for unforeseen circumstances, and GOP appropriators tout removal of DEI, climate and 'divisive gender ideology' spending while Democrats highlight preserved funding for UNFPA and bilateral family planning and a $6.8 billion development account.
- The FSGG portion provides more than $13 billion for Treasury, $872 million for the Executive Office of the President, $9.69 billion for the federal judiciary, and includes language barring the IRS from targeting people or groups over their First Amendment-protected ideological beliefs.
January 09, 2026
5:41 PM
House easily passes spending package as lawmakers work to avoid another shutdown
New information:
- The House has now passed the three-bill spending package funding Interior/EPA, Commerce/Justice/Science, and Energy & Water through September by a vote of 397–28.
- Republicans say the package totals about $175 billion and is below current spending levels, which they characterize as savings for taxpayers.
- Democrats say they negotiated funding levels well above the Trump administration’s request, stripped numerous GOP policy riders on guns, oil and gas leasing, LGBTQ and racial equity issues, and added legally binding provisions limiting the White House’s ability to withhold or delay funds for disfavored programs.
- The White House has formally endorsed the bill as a 'fiscally responsible bill,' and Senate passage is considered likely, with bipartisan support.
- Lawmakers are racing to finish the remaining FY2026 appropriations bills before a Jan. 30 deadline to avoid another shutdown following last year’s record 43‑day shutdown.
January 08, 2026
2:36 PM
House to vote on partial funding package as Congress races to avoid shutdown
New information:
- Confirms the House will vote Thursday on a three‑bill 'minibus' funding Commerce/Justice/Science, Energy & Water, and Interior/EPA through September.
- Reports that, after a conservative rebellion over earmarks, GOP leaders agreed to procedurally separate the Commerce/Justice/Science title so conservatives can oppose it while supporting the other two bills.
- Details that if both pieces pass, they are expected to be recombined and sent to the Senate, which plans to take them up next week.
- Lays out the remaining appropriations schedule: six additional bills still need to be written and passed before the Jan. 30 deadline, with Johnson saying the House will take up three more bills next week.
- Adds Sen. Susan Collins’ outline that the next Senate package is expected to group DHS; State/foreign operations; and financial services/general government, with a final package covering Defense; Labor‑HHS‑Education; and Transportation‑HUD.
2:20 PM
House GOP spending bills pack billions in earmarks, sparking backlash from fiscal hawks
New information:
- Fox reports that the three FY2026 House spending bills (Commerce‑Justice‑Science; Energy & Water; Interior & Environment) collectively contain about $6.5 billion in earmarks covering more than 3,000 individual items.
- Breakdown of earmark totals by bill: more than $1.7 billion in the Interior & Environment bill, over $3 billion in the Energy & Water bill, and another $1.7 billion in the Commerce‑Justice‑Science bill.
- House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole says GOP leaders plan to strike Rep. Ilhan Omar’s $1 million earmark for Generation Hope MN from the package following Republican backlash, but other earmarks remain.
- Sen. Mike Lee and Rep. Chip Roy go on record broadly attacking earmarks in these bills, with Lee citing the Minnesota Generation Hope grant and Roy highlighting a $260,000 earmark for Rhode Island’s Nonviolence Institute and a $1,999,000 earmark for Vermont Legal Aid’s Justice Mobile program.
January 07, 2026
2:53 PM
Left-wing Dems steer $1M to addiction group operating above Minneapolis Somali restaurant amid fraud fallout
New information:
- Sen. Joni Ernst has identified a $1,031,000 DOJ earmark in the $174B funding package for Generation Hope MN, a Somali‑led addiction recovery nonprofit in Minneapolis, championed by Rep. Ilhan Omar and Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith.
- Generation Hope MN operates office space above Sagal Restaurant and Coffee at a Cedar Avenue address in Minneapolis; the restaurant’s owner confirmed the nonprofit uses upstairs offices to provide addiction services.
- Ernst is preparing a Senate amendment to strip that $1.03M earmark and redirect the funds into a DOJ fraud‑prevention and enforcement account, citing the broader Minnesota fraud scandals as justification.
- Documents from Omar’s office promoting the earmark list the project’s address as on 'Cedar Ave. South,' aligning with the restaurant’s location and raising questions that prompted Ernst’s scrutiny.
January 05, 2026
5:08 PM
Congress rolls out $174B spending bill as Jan 30 shutdown fears grow
New information:
- Specifies that the three-bill package totals at least $174 billion in spending.
- Details approximate allocations: about $78 billion for the Commerce/Justice/NASA/FBI and related agencies bill and just over $58 billion for the Energy and Water bill, including roughly $25 billion for the National Nuclear Security Administration focused on nuclear weapons and stockpile modernization.
- Includes new on-the-record reactions: Tom Cole calls the package a bipartisan, bicameral “forceful rejection” of draconian cuts; Rosa DeLauro says it omits “Republican poison pill” riders; Speaker Mike Johnson says it spends less than another continuing resolution and is meant to avoid a “bloated omnibus.”
- Clarifies procedural timing: the House Rules Committee is meeting Tuesday evening to advance the bill, with a House floor vote likely Thursday and a rule vote that will need support from nearly all GOP members.
- Notes internal GOP dynamics by naming fiscal hawks Chip Roy and Ralph Norman on Rules and indicating it is unclear whether they will back the rule and the bill.
4:21 PM
Congress makes first move to avert Jan. 30 shutdown
New information:
- Bipartisan appropriators released a three‑bill FY2026 spending package on Monday, marking the first major movement on government funding since the record‑breaking shutdown ended.
- The package would fund the Departments of Energy, Commerce, Interior and Justice through Sept. 30, 2026.
- House Speaker Mike Johnson plans to bring the package to the House floor for a vote this week, after which it would go to the Senate.
- Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told ABC News he does not expect another shutdown and said appropriators are making "good progress."
- Senate Appropriations Chair Patty Murray said the package ensures "Congress, not President Trump and [OMB Director] Russ Vought decides how taxpayer dollars are spent."
- Johnson said the bills reaffirm a commitment to "return to regular order" and be "responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars."
- Beyond these three bills, Congress still needs to pass six more appropriations bills for FY2026; three others were already enacted as part of the stopgap that ended the shutdown.
11:00 AM
Congress returns amid Venezuela operation; facing deadline to avert shutdow
New information:
- Sen. Susan Collins and Rep. Tom Cole, the top GOP appropriators in each chamber, announced just before Christmas that they reached an agreement on top-line spending levels for the remaining nine appropriations bills, with total funding below current levels and aligned with Trump’s call to rein in spending.
- Rep. Tom Cole publicly framed the agreement as a pathway that 'aligns with President Trump's clear direction to rein in runaway, beltway-driven spending.'
- House Speaker Mike Johnson will have only a two-vote GOP margin after Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s early retirement, further complicating passage of funding bills if conservatives defect.
- The article recounts that the previous 43-day shutdown — the longest in U.S. history — ended with some parts of government funded through September and the rest only through Jan. 30, underscoring the stakes of missing the new deadline.
- Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told ABC’s 'This Week' that he does not believe Congress is headed toward another shutdown and said Republican appropriators are making 'good progress' with Democrats toward full-year funding through September.
December 30, 2025
7:13 PM
Senate races to avoid government shutdown with time ticking and lingering issues
New information:
- When the Senate returns Monday, it will have three working weeks to complete FY2026 appropriations before the Jan. 30 funding deadline.
- Chuck Schumer now says Democrats’ goal is to finish the remaining appropriations bills by the Jan. 30 deadline, a shift from the earlier shutdown‑driven posture.
- Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper are actively blocking a five‑bill Senate funding package over the Trump administration’s plan to dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, after OMB Director Russ Vought labeled NCAR 'one of the largest sources of climate alarmism in the country.'
- Fox reports that the Senate was 'primed and ready' to advance the package before Bennet and Hickenlooper’s hold forced Majority Leader John Thune to shelve it for now.
- The ACA enhanced subsidies will have already expired when lawmakers return; bipartisan Senate talks are underway, and two House plans — a GOP bill already passed and a separate bipartisan measure expected to be voted on in early January — are potential vehicles for an eventual Senate fix.
December 26, 2025