Trump and Schumer Race to Avert Shutdown as ICE Killings Spark Reform Demands
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U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., is followed by reporters as he walks to the Senate Chambers in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Jan. 27, 2026. Anna Moneymaker | Getty Images |
With less than 48 hours until federal funding expires, Senate Democrats and President Trump are negotiating a deal to avert a partial government shutdown—but two deaths in Minneapolis have transformed routine budget politics into a fight over immigration enforcement.
The crisis centers on six spending bills needed to fund federal agencies through September. Five are uncontroversial. The sixth—funding the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE—has become the sticking point after federal immigration agents fatally shot two American citizens, Alex Pretti and Renee Good, during enforcement operations in Minneapolis.
Democrats are demanding specific reforms before approving DHS funding: mandatory body cameras, a ban on masks for agents, warrants before arrests, a code of conduct, and independent investigations of misconduct. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer insists these provisions must be written into legislation, not merely promised.
The emerging compromise would split the package. The Senate would pass five bills immediately, preventing most agencies from shutting down, while giving DHS a short-term funding extension to allow time for negotiating reforms.
But hurdles remain. The deal requires 60 Senate votes; Republicans hold only 53 seats. Any single senator could block the maneuver. And the House is on recess until Monday—after Friday's midnight deadline—meaning even a best-case scenario likely triggers a weekend shutdown affecting TSA, the Coast Guard, and FEMA during a major winter storm.
This marks the second potential shutdown in under two months, reflecting how dysfunction has become democracy's default setting.
Read More At: Republicans consider escape hatch as Congress careens toward deadline
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