US Senate votes on funding deal - but shutdown still imminent / Photo: © AFP
US Senate votes on funding deal - but shutdown still imminent
US senators began voting Friday on a deal backed by President Donald Trump to avert the worst impact of an imminent government shutdown, after a Republican holdout lifted his block following tense talks.
Even if the Senate clears the package, a shutdown is still set to begin on Saturday because the House of Representatives is out of session until Monday, making a brief funding lapse unavoidable.
Senate leaders say advancing the legislation would nonetheless greatly increase the chances that the shutdown ends quickly, potentially within days.
The funding impasse has been driven by Democratic anger over aggressive immigration enforcement following the fatal shootings of two protesters in Minneapolis by federal agents.
The deaths have become a flashpoint that has hardened opposition to approving new money for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) without changes to how immigration agencies operate.
Senate aides said they were confident the package would pass Friday afternoon after Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina ended his blockade of the legislation.
Under the deal negotiated between the White House and Senate Democratic leaders, lawmakers would approve five outstanding funding bills to finance most of the federal government through the end of the fiscal year in September.
Funding for DHS, which oversees immigration enforcement, would be split off and extended for just two weeks under a stopgap measure intended to give lawmakers time to negotiate changes to the department's operations.
Trump publicly endorsed the deal and urged lawmakers in both parties to support it, signaling his desire to avoid a second shutdown of his second term.
Some Democrats and political analysts interpreted the White House's flexibility as a recognition that it needed to moderate its deportation approach following the Minneapolis killings.
- 'Sanctuary cities' -
Graham had blocked the package Thursday night by withholding the unanimous consent required to fast-track the vote.
He cited objections to the DHS stopgap and to House-passed language barring senators from suing the Justice Department if their phone records were seized during past investigations.
On Friday morning, however, Graham announced he would allow the funding bill to advance if Senate leaders agreed to hold votes on legislation he is sponsoring to crack down on so-called "sanctuary cities" that limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.
"The American people overwhelmingly support ending sanctuary city policies. In my view, sanctuary city policies are the root cause of the problems we face," he said in a statement.
"I also applaud President Trump for trying to lower the temperature, but not abandoning his efforts to clean up the Biden immigration fiasco."
The broader funding fight has left both parties bracing for at least a brief shutdown. Congress has already passed six of the 12 annual appropriations bills, but those measures cover only a minority of discretionary spending.
The remaining bills fund large swaths of the government, meaning funding for roughly 78 percent of federal operations is set to lapse over the weekend.
The package must still be approved by the House, which is scheduled to convene its Rules Committee on Sunday in an effort to speed the bill through the chamber once lawmakers return on Monday.
Speaker Mike Johnson has said the House intends to act quickly, though divisions among Republicans could complicate the process.
If enacted, lawmakers would then have just two weeks to negotiate a full-year DHS funding bill -- talks that both parties acknowledge will be politically fraught, with Democrats demanding new guardrails on immigration enforcement and conservatives pushing their own policy priorities.
V.Bennett--TNT
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