The next 24 hours will likely determine whether they can reach a deal or some federal agencies shutter, Thune told reporters. (Aaron Schwartz/Bloomberg)
January 27, 2026 5:22 PM, EST
Key Takeaways:
- Democrats are threatening a partial shutdown unless Homeland Security is removed from the bill or immigration enforcement limits are added.
- Thune says the next day will determine whether a funding deal can be reached before Jan. 30.
- The dispute follows public backlash after a Minnesota nurse was fatally shot by Border Patrol agents.
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Senate Majority Leader John Thune said the two parties are in talks with the White House over U.S. government funding as Democrats threaten to force a partial U.S. government shutdown following a mounting public backlash over President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown in Minnesota.
The fatal shooting of Minnesota nurse Alex Pretti by Border Patrol agents on Jan. 24 quickly led to a Senate Democratic revolt against funding the Department of Homeland Security without new safeguards. Funding for several other agencies, including Defense, Health and Human Services, Labor, Treasury and Education, could become a casualty of the dispute as a Jan. 30 funding deadline nears.
The next 24 hours will likely determine whether they can reach a deal or some federal agencies shutter, Thune told reporters at the Capitol on the afternoon of Jan. 27.
Democrats have demanded the Department of Homeland Security be stripped from a massive funding bill, or constraints put on Trump’s aggressive immigration and border tactics as their price for voting for additional agency funding.
Thune said Republicans were seeking a concrete list of Democratic demands on immigration enforcement and would then determine if they can be accommodated. “We will see how those conversations go,” he said.
The U.S. House passed the funding package last week. Lawmakers there are on recess this week and would need to vote on any changes to the measure.
Thune called it a “risky” proposition to send the bill back to the House for another vote.
Earlier, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said his party is “overwhelmingly” united in their push to put constraints on Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol.
“What ICE is doing is lawless disorder,” Schumer said. “What ICE is doing is state-sanctioned thuggery and it must be stopped.”
Senate Republicans need the votes of at least seven Democrats to overcome procedural hurdles and pass the spending legislation.
A shutdown could be prolonged but it would have little practical effect on ICE and Border Patrol, which received massive funding in Trump’s tax bill last year.
And while it’s one of the strongest legislative tactics out-of-power Democrats have at their disposal in Trump’s Washington, recent history shows how hard it is to extract policy changes by instigating shutdowns in funding fights.
Democrats failed to leverage the 43-day autumn government shutdown to secure an extension of Obamacare subsidies, which have since expired. However, they were able to put the White House and Republicans on the defensive on issues of affordability and the economy that they plan to campaign on in the November midterm elections.
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