The killing of Alex Pretti at the hands of federal agents is hitting hard on Capitol Hill, ratcheting up the odds of a partial government shutdown and spurring Republican lawmakers to make another break with the Trump administration.
Here’s the latest on how the fallout from the Minnesota shooting is playing out in Congress:
— Shutdown looks likely: The Senate is set to take its first vote on the last tranche of government funding bills Thursday, and things aren’t looking good.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is insisting that Republicans work across the aisle to rewrite DHS funding legislation but also signaling that Democrats would be willing to help advance the other five pending appropriations bills in the meantime. Several Democrats who helped end the previous shutdown say they plan to vote against the funding bills unless there are changes to the ICE operation in Minnesota.
At this stage, Senate GOP leadership expects to move forward as planned on the six-bill package including DHS. Republicans and the White House have reached out to Senate Democrats about how to proceed, but one Senate Democratic leadership aide granted anonymity said they haven’t raised “realistic solutions.” A number of rank-and-file Senate Republicans are speaking out against any attempt to “defund” DHS — and leadership would need buy-in from all 100 senators to quickly strip out the DHS bill. President Donald Trump is now pushing Republicans to pass a bill to “END Sanctuary Cities.”
A couple key reminders: The pending funding bills include money for the departments of Defense, Health and Human Services and State, and account for more than 75 percent of federal discretionary spending.
And don’t forget the House is out this week and wouldn’t be around to pass any revamped funding bills before Friday. The Senate won’t hold its first vote of the week until Tuesday afternoon because of the snow storm.
— Trump faces nervous GOP: A growing number of House and Senate Republicans are voicing public concerns about the incident and calling for an investigation, as top administration officials defend the agents involved.
Even close Trump allies are beginning to speak out. Sen. David McCormick (R-Pa.) said on X Sunday night that he supports the Border Patrol and ICE but that he agrees with the NRA about the need for a “full investigation.”
House Homeland Security Chair Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.) is calling for DHS officials to testify. House Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) suggested to Fox News that Trump would want to “maybe go to another city” as Minnesota officials push back.
Some Republicans have been privately warning administration officials and GOP leaders for months that Trump’s immigration crackdown is not going over well in some pockets of the country.
“Many of us wonder if the administration has any clue as to how much this will hurt us legislatively and electorally this year,” said one House Republican.
Jordain Carney and Meredith Lee Hill contributed to this report.
