Republicans Punt on a DHS Funding Fight with Democrats After Minnesota ICE Shooting

Appropriators on both sides of the Capitol were on track to pass a series of bipartisan appropriations bills before the end of the month, including one for the Department of Homeland Security, to prevent another government shutdown.

But then an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer fatally shot a U.S. citizen in Minneapolis last week, leading to outrage and fury from Democrats — and a renewed debate on whether to work to defund, or significantly reform, the agency.

Sen. Chris Murphy, the top Democrat on the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, signaled the drama has no end in sight. He has remained an outspoken critic of the administration’s immigration policies and has jurisdiction in his committee over ICE.

“We don’t have a bill because we don’t have an agreement,” Murphy said. “I’m just not interested in funding an agency that is operating outside of the law and is making our communities less safe.”

Progressives agree. Democrats on the Congressional Progressive Caucus announced that the group is standing firm on withholding their votes for funding for immigration agencies without reforms.

“Democratic leadership understands what is going on. They are very concerned, and they also share our sentiment that we need to do something to bring reform, to bring change, to stop the lawlessness, the cruelty and the abuse of power that’s taking place within ICE and [Customs and Border Protection] and DHS,” Rep. Chuy García told reporters during a press conference on Tuesday.

Traditionally, appropriators on both sides of the aisle leave the politically difficult funding bills for last — including Defense; Labor, Health and Human Services and Education; and State. The DHS bill traditionally hasn’t been in this category until recently, but now there’s a very low likelihood they’ll be able to reach a bipartisan consensus on it.

Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters that appropriators are punting the Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill to the next so-called minibus left to pass before the Jan. 30 funding deadline, hoping to buy time.

“I think it’ll be in the final four [bills] package that we’ll have next week,” Johnson said Monday. “So we’re optimistic about it.”

House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole also told reporters Tuesday that negotiations on the spending bill are taking longer than anticipated.

“Right now, some of the members are upset about ICE and we made the decision to not go ahead this week and buy some time to continue to talk,” Cole said. “So we’re still trying to work things out, and hopefully we can.”

Democratic leaders have signaled a hesitancy to wage a shutdown over what happened in Minneapolis last week. While House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries condemned the actions by ICE and the response by the Trump administration, he didn’t offer an exact plan on how to respond.

“House Democrats are going to have a family conversation throughout the week, in the caucus meeting and in the whip meeting, about the path forward related to these most recent developments,” Jeffries said Monday.

But some Democrats have said they want to make sure money appropriated for DHS is spent in targeted ways. Murphy has floated reforms, including banning masks for Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers during operations and requiring warrants for all arrests.

“We’re not going to write a comprehensive immigration enforcement reform bill in the appropriations bill, but in every bill, there’s language on how our money is spent, and I want to make sure that our money is spent lawfully,” Murphy said.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters on Tuesday that Democratic lawmakers are focused on including new ICE reforms.

“That’s one of the major issues that the appropriators are confronting right now before the bills come up,” Schumer said.

Sen. Markwayne Mullin, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, told reporters on Monday that lawmakers have always known the DHS bill would be particularly tough to get over the finish line.

“[Democrats] have never been supportive of it,” Mullin said. “We understood that very clearly, which is why we did so much being proactive with the ‘One Big, Beautiful Bill,’ with allowing the bill to have the funding to go enforce our laws.” That GOP bill, enacted last summer, included roughly $30 billion for ICE enforcement operations.

Senate Majority John Thune on Tuesday floated the possibility of a continuing resolution to extend current funding levels for the agency for another year.

“Homeland’s obviously the hardest one,” Thune told reporters. “It’s possible that if we can’t get agreement that there could be some sort of CR that funds some of these bills into next year. But my hope still is, and my expectation is, that there’s going to be enough interest in cooperating to get bills through the process in regular order.”

But Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, said Democrats don’t want to see a one-year CR. “The mindset is to try to move forward to get things done.”

“How do we structure the Homeland Security bill so that we can move forward?” DeLauro said. “It includes the immigration issues, the ICE issues, but Homeland also includes the Coast Guard, FEMA, TSA.”

Any funding bill would need 60 votes in the Senate to advance. Sen. Tim Kaine told reporters on Monday that, though he has not seen the text of a DHS spending bill, he has concerns about funding the agency overall.

“I’m deeply, deeply concerned, as I have been, but it’s even ratcheted up to a new level,” Kaine said. “We want to see some accountability for this. And thus far, what we’re hearing is a lot of victim-blaming and excuses.”

Sen. Angus King, an independent, echoed Kaine, adding that he doesn’t see the need for additional funding for DHS.

“My understanding is that they were funded pretty grossly in the big bill we passed last summer,” King said. “I am not sure that they need additional funding. But I’ll have to review what is in the bill.”