“We want them to take off their masks and turn on their body cameras,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).
Threats of government shutdown increase after Minneapolis shooting
Congress is grappling with a partial government shutdown after complicated funding agreements in the wake of the shooting of Alex Preti in Minneapolis.
WASHINGTON – With the possibility of a partial government shutdown in the coming days, Senate Democrats outlined three key demands for reforming the Department of Homeland Security, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement, in the wake of the killing of Alex Preti.
First, they are calling on President Donald Trump to end intensive immigration checks known as “patrol patrols.” They are also demanding more accountability from ICE and the Border Patrol, including independent investigations and stricter standards for the use of force. Finally, they are asking officers to “remove their masks” and “turn on their body cameras.”
If Congressional Republicans and the White House do not seriously negotiate these demands, a new funding crisis is looming, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) warned.
“These are common sense reforms, these are the reforms that Americans know and expect from law enforcement,” he told reporters on January 28. “The White House didn’t have any good, concrete ideas.”
He emphasized that Senate Democrats are united around these demands. The party’s caucus has vowed to hold off a vote on the sweeping funding measure, which must be passed by Friday, Jan. 30, because Republicans and the president are unwilling to negotiate.
The impasse effectively ensures another potentially widespread federal government shutdown following last year’s record crisis.
Even if an early deal is reached, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson would likely have to convene the House, which has been in recess for a week. Doing so could pose major logistical problems before Friday’s deadline, especially given Washington, D.C.’s inclement weather.
And even then, it’s unclear whether a deal in the Senate can survive an unpredictable vote in the House.
“The House is going to have to go back,” said Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Connecticut. “In some cases, you might actually have to show up when the country is exploding.”
Because of this uncertainty, Senate Republican leaders are pleading with Democrats not to hold government funds hostage over the controversy in Minneapolis. But since last weekend’s events, even Republican lawmakers have criticized the way the Trump administration initially defended and mischaracterized the killing of Preti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse.
“There’s been a lot of statements that have been made, and I think a lot of them were made before we actually knew the facts,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-South Dakota).
Thune said the White House and Republicans are willing to “sit down and have a conversation” about the future of DHS. But he said another government shutdown is not in anyone’s interest.
“I hope we can get this thing back on track,” he told reporters. “A government shutdown is in no one’s interest.”
Notably, some Republican senators, including John Kennedy of Louisiana and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, have expressed openness to splitting the funding bill. This strategy will limit the pain of the shutdown and allow negotiations to proceed successfully, President Kennedy told reporters.
“The problem with making that assessment is that I’m being rational,” he says. “And this is not a rational process.”
Zachary Schermele is a Congressional reporter for USA TODAY. You can email us at zschermele@usatoday.com. Follow him on X at @ZachSchermele and on Bluesky at @zachschermele.bsky.social..
