Democrats struck a deal with the White House on Thursday to avert an extended government shutdown, which Senate lawmakers will rush to pass as soon as this evening. It's unclear how quickly lawmakers in the House of Representatives will be able to vote on the bill, with government funding set to lapse at 12:01 a.m. Saturday morning.
The Senate on Thursday failed to advance a bill to fund the government. A partial shutdown seems almost inevitable, but it isn't likely to last very long.
A procedural vote to move a package of six government funding bills failed by a vote of 45 to 55 early Thursday afternoon. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R., S.D.) voted "no" to allow himself to enter a motion to reconsider and set up another vote potentially as soon as this afternoon.
Among other provisions, the bills would fund the Department of Homeland Security, a flashpoint for lawmakers after immigration agents killed protesters in Minnesota. The package, which has already passed the House of Representatives, needs at least 60 votes to avoid a filibuster.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D. N.Y.) on Wednesday laid out a list of Democrats' demands to pass DHS funding, including requiring Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to remove their masks and to require judicial warrants for searches and arrests.
A shutdown seemed off the table just a week ago, but that all changed after ICE agents killed 37-year-old U.S. citizen Alex Pretti. Stripping the DHS of funding isn't likely to affect ICE operations, which can draw on other money, but it has become a point of leverage for Democrats who want to use the bill to rein in the department.
The House is in recess this week, meaning lawmakers have essentially no time to avoid at least a short government-funding lapse beginning at 12:01 a.m. Saturday morning. Unlike the record-setting 43-day shutdown that ended last fall, this lapse will likely be short.
On Thursday, Thune said Republicans were open to some of the changes to ICE that Democrats have asked for. "There's a path to consider some of those things and negotiate," he said.
GOP senators including John Kennedy (R., La.) and Lisa Murkowski (R., Alaska) have said they would be fine with stripping out the DHS funding from the broader bill.
Democrats and the White House have discussed agreeing to a short-term continuing resolution for the DHS funding that would last until February, giving time for lawmakers to negotiate additional ICE provisions.
"Hopefully we won't have a shutdown," President Donald Trump said during a cabinet meeting on Thursday. "I think we're getting close with the Democrats. I don't believe they want to see it either."
It isn't clear whether that plan would also pass muster in the House. On Wednesday, members of the House Freedom Caucus sent Trump a letter encouraging him not to agree to any plan that separates the DHS funding from the other appropriations bills.
"We cannot support giving Democrats the ability to control the funding of our Department of Homeland Security," the letter said.
In the past, Trump has been able to strong-arm GOP lawmakers into falling in line. His personal involvement might be needed again to keep a shutdown short-lived.
