President Donald Trump and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer moved closer late Wednesday to a tentative agreement aimed at averting a partial federal government shutdown set to begin early Saturday, when funding for several agencies is scheduled to expire.
The emerging framework centers on separating funding for the Department of Homeland Security from a broader six-bill appropriations package. Under the proposal, the Senate would advance the remaining five spending measures—covering military operations, health programs, and other federal functions—before a Friday midnight deadline, while temporarily extending DHS funding through a short-term continuing resolution.
That stopgap would keep DHS agencies such as the Transportation Security Administration, the Coast Guard, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency operating without interruption, while providing additional time for negotiations between congressional leaders and the White House over a revised DHS funding measure.
Those talks are expected to focus on Democratic demands for new limits on immigration enforcement practices and expanded oversight of federal agents accused of excessive force. Momentum for the approach increased earlier Wednesday after Senate Democrats publicly outlined conditions for supporting continued DHS funding, including requirements that immigration agents remove masks during operations, wear body cameras, and halt random sweeps and warrantless searches or arrests, reports The New York Times.
The funding dispute has been intensified by fallout from a fatal shooting in Minneapolis on Saturday, in which federal agents killed Alex Pretti, a radical protester who had been attacking ICE vehicles, triggering protests and renewed criticism of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement strategy.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who had initially opposed splitting the spending package, urged Schumer to engage directly with the administration as negotiations intensified. Senator Susan Collins, a Republican from Maine, chair of the Appropriations Committee, signaled cautious optimism.
“It appears that the White House and the Senate are making good progress to avoid a shutdown,” she said.
Despite the progress, sources familiar with the discussions emphasized that no final agreement has been reached and that significant hurdles remain. The White House declined to offer immediate public comment on the developing proposal.
A procedural test vote on the full spending package is scheduled for Thursday morning. Later that day, border czar Tom Homan is expected to hold a news conference amid ongoing unrest in Minneapolis tied to the shooting.
