WASHINGTON, D.C. — Washington is gearing up for another funding fight — and this one could shut down the federal government, or at least part of it, again.
At the center of it all: the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and growing backlash over immigration enforcement.
The funding bill for DHS passed the House last week with bipartisan support and was sent to the Senate. House Democrats were able to extract some concessions like body cameras and de-escalation training, among others.
But the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti during a Border Patrol encounter in Minneapolis on Saturday has changed the entire trajectory for DHS funding and could prompt a partial shutdown.
Recent polling shows a growing number of Americans believe immigration enforcement tactics being used by the administration have gone too far, as protests ramp up across major cities.
Senate Democrats are signaling they may block the federal funding bill that includes money for DHS and ICE — arguing the agency needs further reforms before receiving funding. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Democrats will not provide the votes needed to pass the current funding measure in the Senate, which combines DHS with funding for several other agencies.
Analysts say Democrats are under pressure to push back against the administration after recent events.
“I think anything short of a shutdown will look like they’re capitulating to the Republicans. There’s a lot of pressure on the Democrats this time around,” said Dr. Todd Belt, professor and director of the Political Management Master’s Program at George Washington University.
Democrats want to move Homeland Security into its own funding bill to avoid broader disruption. Doing that could minimize the impact of a partial shutdown, leaving only DHS without funding. But if not, and if negotiations fail, multiple agencies — including Defense, Transportation, Labor, Education, Health and Human Services, and others — could all be impacted. However, Belt said the impacts wouldn’t be as widespread as the record-breaking shutdown last November.
“It wouldn’t be as comprehensive as the last one. And because of that, it would inflict a bit less pain, which would mean it would be harder to get both sides back to the table, which means this could end up spilling out a little bit longer than most people think,” said Belt.
Regardless of whether Senate Democrats are able to separate the funding for Homeland Security, funding for the agency will be on hold until Democrats feel enough reforms are in place to vote to fund the agency.
“DHS has a lot of operations. It’s a very big bureaucracy. If some of those things go unfunded, then you would probably have a similar situation like we had last November where people were working without paychecks,” said Belt.
60 votes are needed in the Senate to send the funding bills to the President. That threshold has become a critical point of leverage for Democrats- who have no control in Washington- to block GOP priorities.
If a shutdown occurs, Belt says it could have ramifications for Republicans.
“As incumbents, Republicans have the responsibility to prove to the American people that they should continue to be the governing party in the House and the Senate,” said Belt.
