Washington is charging toward a partial government shutdown over President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement agenda even as senators and the White House scramble to find an elusive off-ramp.
Democrats, Republicans and the White House each say they want to avoid another costly lapse in government funding. But Saturday’s killing of a 37-year-old Minnesota man by federal agents has badly complicated the approach pattern for a massive six-bill appropriations package that the Senate planned to approve this week.
In the wake of the Minnesota shooting, Democrats want Republicans to join them in stripping out funding for the Department of Homeland Security from the sprawling package. Yet any changes would require further action in the House, which is out of town until Monday — after a shutdown would start at 12:01 a.m. Saturday.
Republicans are dangling alternatives that would avoid having to change the massive bill, including potential executive actions or an agreement to pass a separate piece of legislation. But Democrats believe they have leverage as Americans recoil at Trump’s aggressive immigration enforcement tactics in Minnesota and elsewhere.
