WASHINGTON – A budget standoff in Congress is poised to halt much federal activity early Saturday as lawmakers on Capitol Hill turn to the next area in talks to reopen the government: whether to impose new restrictions on immigration authorities that are driving President Trump’s deportation campaign.
In the next two weeks, Democrats and Republicans will weigh competing demands on how the Department of Homeland Security should handle arrests, detentions and deportations after the shooting of two US citizens by federal immigration agents this month in Minnesota.
Seeking to strengthen federal agencies, Senate Democrats late Thursday managed to strike a deal with the White House that would temporarily fund the Department of Homeland Security but fund the Pentagon, the State Department, and the health, education, labor and transportation agencies on September 30.
The deal is intended to give lawmakers more time to address Democrats’ demands to curb ICE’s tactics while averting a partial government shutdown.
The Senate was expected to finalize the deal Friday evening, hours before a midnight deadline to avoid a government shutdown. The passage of the agreement was delayed by Sen. Lindsey Graham (RS.C.), who opposed parts of the package.
The House is expected to take up this law from Monday. A partial government shutdown will occur until the measure clears the House and Trump signs it into law.
The president supports the deal, which came after Senate Democrats said they would not vote to fund Homeland Security unless changes to the agency were approved. Among the demands: ban federal agents from wearing masks, require the use of body cameras and require the use of warrants before searching homes and making arrests.
Democrats also want local and state law enforcement officials empowered to conduct independent investigations into cases where federal agents are accused of wrongdoing.
The agreement, however, does not include any of those changes; it only includes a promise of more time to negotiate with no guarantee that new restrictions will be agreed upon.
Both of California’s Democratic senators, Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla, declined to comment on the Senate deal ahead of Friday’s vote. Both opposed giving more money to Homeland Security without changes during Thursday’s vote.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (DN.Y.) told reporters Friday morning that Democrats will find out if two weeks is enough time to reach a compromise.
“We’ll see if that’s enough time,” Jeffries said. “But it is urgent to deal with this issue because ICE, as we have seen, is out of control.”
Meanwhile, the lack of changes in the Senate deal has raised concerns among some progressives, who say the deal falls short of what is needed to strengthen immigration enforcement.
“First of all, I’m disappointed that the leadership of the Senate is not now demanding more,” Rep. Robert Garcia, the top House Democrat from Long Beach, told reporters on Friday. “This idea that somehow we’re going to continue to fund this organization and somehow prolong the pain, I think is absolutely wrong.”
Garcia said it was “outrageous” that the Senate deal would increase funding for Homeland Security for two weeks without new requirements.
“This idea that somehow we don’t want to immediately get rid of the masks and body cameras and all the other changes while this agency is being done away with, I think it’s offensive,” Garcia said.
Democratic Rep. Judy Chu of Pasadena said in a statement that she has not yet made a decision on whether she will support the Senate deal when it reaches the House floor.
But, Chu added: “I cannot support a law that increases funding to this organization while not introducing accountability mechanisms.”
Rep. Kevin Calvert (R-Corona) said in a statement that it is “critical” that lawmakers pass a bipartisan spending package, in part because it includes funding for the US military.
“As the Chairman of the group [House] Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, I am very concerned about the negative impact of the shutdown at a time when we have a significant amount of American military assets in the Middle East,” Calvert said.
Calvert added that Homeland Security operations will continue despite the shutdown because lawmakers provided an influx of funding to the agency in last year’s “One Big Good Bill.” But he said he was worried that any excess funds would interfere with other activities carried out by the organization, including disaster relief and security assistance for major events, such as the upcoming World Cup.
“We have to find money for these important things,” he said.
Some Republican lawmakers have already signed off on potential hurdles Democrats will face as they try to strengthen ICE.
Graham held up Senate consideration of the deal in part because he wanted the Senate to vote to criminalize local and state officials in sanctuary cities — a term that does not have a strict definition but generally describes local areas that limit cooperation with immigration authorities.
“You can convince me that ICE can be better, but I don’t think I’ll ever convince you that you’re going to abandon sanctuary cities because you’re married to them on the Democratic side,” Graham said.
Graham also delayed passage of the deal because it included repealing a law that would have allowed senators — including himself — to sue the government if federal investigators intercepted their calls without informing them. The law required senators to be notified when that would happen and to charge up to $50,000 per incident.
“We’re going to fix $500,000 — I calculated — but you’ve given us notice,” Graham said. “I want a vote on the floor of the US Senate.”
Some Senate Republicans have also expressed concern about the demands of Democrats, as Trump appears to be trying to please them.
Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) said the requirement that federal agents remove their masks while on duty is “a clear and blatant attempt to intimidate and put our federal agents at risk.”
“When law enforcement is dangerous to law enforcement, law enforcement is not safe,” Schmitt said in a Senate speech. “What you see is not change, you’re automatically pardoned.”
Despite GOP opposition, most Senate Republicans were ready to join Democrats on Friday and vote for the deal. But there is no guarantee that they will join the minority group when negotiations begin in the coming weeks.
Recent history suggests that initial bipartisan support does not guarantee a lasting agreement, especially if unresolved policy conflicts remain. The last government shutdown related to the health care debate revealed how quickly negotiations can collapse when no agreement is reached.
In November, a small group of Democrats voted with Republicans to end the longest government shutdown in American history with a promise to negotiate an extension of the health care tax credits that were set to expire in the new year.
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-San Franciso), former speaker of the House, reminded the public on Friday that the Democrats could not get the support of the Republicans by increasing the tax credits, which caused an increase in the cost of health care for millions of Americans.
“House Democrats passed a bipartisan fix, yet Senate Republicans continue to block this important relief for millions of Americans,” Pelosi wrote in an X post.
Times staff writer Seema Mehta contributed to this report.
