Is the US govt heading for another shutdown? Minneapolis shooting fuels budget deadlock

Washington: The fatal shooting of a second American citizen by federal agents in Minneapolis has triggered a political standoff in Washington, with multiple US senators announcing they will oppose upcoming government spending bills, significantly increasing the likelihood of a federal government shutdown next week.

Funding for large sections of the US government, including the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Pentagon, is set to expire on January 31. While the Republican-led House of Representatives has passed a funding package extending government operations through September, the legislation still requires Senate approval.

Also read: Who was Alex Pretti? 37-year-old nurse shot dead by federal officers in Minneapolis

President Donald Trump’s Republican Party narrowly controls the 100-member Senate but lacks sufficient votes to pass the spending bills without Democratic backing, making bipartisan support essential.

Democrats withdraw support over DHS funding

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Saturday that Democratic support would be withheld if DHS funding remains part of the package.

"Senate Democrats will not provide the votes to proceed to the appropriations bill if the DHS funding bill is included," Schumer said in a statement.

Republicans had been hoping to secure a small number of Democratic votes despite the package containing full funding for DHS, the agency central to Trump’s controversial immigration enforcement agenda.

Democratic Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, considered one of the potential swing voters, said she would oppose the bill following the latest Minneapolis killing.

"I will not support the current Homeland Security funding bill," Cortez Masto said in a statement, accusing the administration of dangerous enforcement practices.

The Nevada senator said the Trump administration and DHS chief Kristi Noem are "putting undertrained, combative federal agents on the streets with no accountability."

Second Minneapolis killing fuels backlash

The latest political fallout follows the killing of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old Minneapolis nurse, shot dead by federal agents. His death came just three weeks after another Minnesota resident, 37-year-old Renee Good, was also shot and killed by a federal agent.

Also read: ‘Using child as bait’: ICE detains 5‑year‑old while father arrested in Minneapolis

Democratic Senator Mark Warner of Virginia said Pretti’s death underscored the need to halt current enforcement tactics.

"This brutal crackdown has to end," Warner wrote in a post on X reacting to Pretti’s death Saturday.

"I cannot and will not vote to fund DHS while this administration continues these violent federal takeovers of our cities," he added.

Shutdown risk rises

Under Senate rules, 60 votes are required to pass spending bills. With a growing number of Democratic senators now withdrawing support, another government shutdown, just two months after the last one, is becoming increasingly likely.

The most recent shutdown, the longest in US history, ended in November after 43 days, during which hundreds of thousands of federal employees were furloughed, while essential workers were required to work without pay.