Democrats, White House reach tentative spending deal that would avert shutdown

WASHINGTON — Democrats and the White House struck a deal Thursday night to avert a partial government shutdown and temporarily fund the Department of Homeland Security as they negotiate new restrictions for President Donald Trump’s surge of immigration enforcement.

As the country reels from the killings of two protesters at the hands of federal agents in Minneapolis, the two sides tentatively agreed to separate homeland security funding from the rest of the legislation and fund it for two weeks while they debate Democratic demands for limits on the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.

The deal came after Democrats voted to block legislation to fund the Department of Homeland Security earlier in the day.

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Trump said in a social media post that “Republicans and Democrats have come together to get the vast majority of the government funded until September,” while extending current funding for Homeland Security. He encouraged members of both parties to cast a “much needed Bipartisan ‘YES’ vote.”

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told The Associated Press on Thursday that he "vehemently opposed" breaking up the funding package, but "if it is broken up, we will have to move it as quickly as possible. We can't have the government shut down."

Democrats requested a short extension — two weeks or less — and say they are prepared to block the wide-ranging spending bill if their demands aren't met, denying Republicans the votes they need to pass it and potentially triggering a shutdown.

Republicans pushed for a longer extension of the Homeland Security funding, but the two sides were "getting closer," said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D.

Bipartisan talks

The rare bipartisan talks between Trump and his frequent adversary, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, came after federal officers shot and killed Alex Pretti, 37, in Minnesota over the weekend and calls by senators in both parties for a full investigation. Schumer called it "a moment of truth."

With an uncertain path ahead, the standoff threatened to plunge the country into another shutdown just two months after Democrats blocked a spending bill over expiring federal health care subsidies. That dispute closed the government for a record 43 days as Republicans refused to negotiate.

The fall shutdown ended when a small group of moderate Democrats broke away to strike a deal with Republicans, but Democrats are more unified this time after federal agents killed Pretti on Saturday and Renee Good on Jan. 7. 

Democrats' demands

Democrats laid out several demands, asking the White House to "end roving patrols" in cities and coordinate with local law enforcement on immigration arrests, including requiring tighter rules for warrants.

They also want an enforceable code of conduct so agents are held accountable when they violate rules. Schumer said agents should be required to have "masks off, body cameras on" and carry proper identification, as is common practice in most law enforcement agencies.

The Democratic caucus is united in those "common sense reforms," and the burden is on Republicans to accept them, Schumer said.

"Boil it all down, what we are talking about is that these lawless ICE agents should be following the same rules that your local police department does," said Democratic Sen. Tina Smith of Minnesota. "There has to be accountability."

Still far apart

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As the two sides narrowed in on a spending deal, the length of a temporary extension for Homeland Security funding emerged as a sticking point. Thune said Thursday that two weeks wasn't enough time to negotiate a final compromise.

"We'll see where discussions are going between (Democrats) and the White House on that," Thune said.

Even if the two sides strike a deal, negotiations down the road on a final agreement on the Homeland Security bill are likely to be difficult.

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Democrats want Trump's aggressive immigration crackdown to end.

"If the Trump administration resists reforms, we shut down the agency," said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn. "We need to take a stand."

Republicans are unlikely to agree to all of the Democrats' demands.

North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis said he opposes requiring immigration enforcement officers to show their faces, even as he blamed Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for decisions that he said are "tarnishing" the agency's reputation.

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"You know, there's a lot of vicious people out there, and they'll take a picture of your face, and the next thing you know, your children or your wife or your husband are being threatened at home," Tillis said.

South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham said some of the Democratic proposals "make sense," such as better training and body cameras. Still, he said he put his Senate colleagues "on notice" that if Democrats try to make changes to the funding bill, he would insist on new language preventing local governments from resisting the Trump administration's immigration policies.

"I think the best legislative solution for our country would be to adopt some of these reforms to ICE and Border Patrol," Graham posted on social media, but also end "sanctuary city" policies.

Uncertainty

Across the Capitol, House Republicans said they do not want changes to the bill they passed last week. In a letter to Trump on Tuesday, the conservative House Freedom Caucus wrote that its members stand with the Republican president and ICE.

"The package will not come back through the House without funding for the Department of Homeland Security," they wrote.

Speaker Johnson appeared open to the changes, albeit reluctantly, and told the AP he would want to approve the bills "as quickly as possible" once the Senate acts.

"The American people will be hanging in the balance over this," Johnson said. "A shutdown doesn't help anybody."

Killing in Minnesota intensifies protests