U.S. Senate Blocks Vote to Prevent Government Shutdown Amid Immigration Dispute
A U.S. government shutdown appeared imminent after Senate Democrats blocked a key vote to fund federal departments, deepening a standoff with the White House over President Donald Trump’s hardline immigration enforcement following the fatal shootings of two protesters.
The failed vote stalled a six-bill spending package that would fund more than three-quarters of the federal government. As a result, a partial shutdown is set to begin after midnight Saturday.
Although a second vote on a revised package was scheduled, any successful outcome would still require approval from the House of Representatives, which is on recess until Monday — more than two days after the Friday night funding deadline. Under congressional rules, both chambers must pass identical legislation before it can become law.
If the shutdown persists, hundreds of thousands of federal employees could be furloughed or required to work without pay, while the disruption could ripple across the wider economy.
This would be the second government shutdown since Trump took office a year ago, though lawmakers hoped the closure might be limited to a weekend, unlike last summer’s record-breaking 43-day shutdown.
Immigration Enforcement Sparks Dispute
Democrats have insisted they would block the six-bill package unless funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is separated and rewritten to impose new guardrails on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the agency at the center of Trump’s immigration crackdown.
“What ICE is doing is state-sanctioned thuggery, and it must stop. Congress has the authority — and the moral obligation — to act,” said Senate Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
Schumer later announced that the White House agreed to a temporary framework addressing Democrats’ concerns with the DHS bill, though media reports indicated that a vote on the agreement was delayed until Friday. Trump urged lawmakers to support the deal, calling for a “very much needed Bipartisan ‘YES’ Vote” in a social media post.
The standoff has been intensified by the recent shootings of activists in Minneapolis. Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse monitoring deportation operations, was shot dead by federal border agents, weeks after another activist, Renee Good, was killed nearby. The deaths reignited congressional scrutiny of immigration enforcement practices and disrupted what had been a fragile bipartisan funding truce.
Next Steps and Political Stakes
Democrats have indicated they are ready to pass the remaining five spending bills, covering agencies such as Defense, Health, Education, Transportation, and Financial Services. However, they are calling for a rewritten DHS bill that would mandate:
An end to roving ICE patrols
Tighter warrant requirements
A universal use-of-force code
A ban on officers wearing masks
Mandatory body cameras
Clearly visible identification
The White House agreement does not yet include these provisions, instead giving lawmakers two weeks to revise DHS funding before the department faces its own potential shutdown.
Lawmakers from both parties have warned that a lapse in DHS funding could have serious consequences for agencies like the Federal Emergency Management Agency, particularly as severe winter weather affects large parts of the country.
