On Thursday, we reported on the success of the House of Representatives in passing the final items for the 2026 budget. That minibus then went to the Senate, DHS funding and all - a major sticking-point for Democrats - and there are indications that the funding package may already be in trouble. Recalcitrant Democrats in the Senate are now demanding DHS and ICE be neutered, or they'll take their ball and go home.
Senate Republicans may be in for a scrap.
Senate Democrats are beginning to peel off from their leadership, upping the ante for another government shutdown.
Disputes over Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding, fewer restrictions on President Donald Trump’s authority and a possible headache with a previous, controversial provision could set the stage for another government shutdown.
Senate Republican and Democratic leaders don’t want to idly fall into another government shutdown, given that Congress just exited the longest closure in history a few short months ago. They have differing reasons, but for now, Republicans and Democrats agreed that the best option was to fund the government.
This isn't exactly a surprise, as Democrats have been angling to strip ever penny they can away from the agencies responsible for immigration and border enforcement. That says a lot about where their priorities are.
Many of the issues lie within the DHS funding bill, which Democratic negotiators argued included several wins in their quest to rein in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). That bill passed through the House Thursday, with tepid support from House Democrats.
Only seven broke from their colleagues, a sign that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and his leadership team will have their work cut out for them in the upcoming week. And now, they’ll have to wrangle Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., who on Friday announced in a statement that he would not back the broader package.
Kaine wanted to see a much broader swath of constraints baked into the behemoth funding package, including safeguards against Trump’s war powers, the firing of federal workers, and DHS and ICE retribution against his home state.
Senator Kaine (D-VA) is a man of little account and less sense. The only thing of note he has to claim is the one thing he has in common with a man of even less account, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, that being that they were both failed vice presidential candidates on a ticket that lost to Donald Trump. One wonders if Senator Kaine is inclined to take it personally.
Read More: New: House Clears Key Hurdle on $1.2 Trillion Spending Package
Minibus Passes, Essential Agencies Now Funded: Defense, Health, and Education - and DHS!
This is liable to present a challenge to the GOP and to Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), as these appropriations bills are subject to the 60-vote margin for cloture; the Republicans have only 53 seats in the Senate, and one or two of those may be questionable. What may well happen is more negotiation, some alterations, and then, if the Senate approves, it goes back to the House for an up-or-down.
This is how the game has always been played, sure. But this time it's more than a little egregious, with the Democrats demanding that DHS and ICE be neutered to the point where they couldn't apprehend a toddler fleeing them on a Big Wheel.
The party starts when the Senate returns next week. Stay tuned.
Editor’s Note: The Democrat Party has never been less popular as voters reject its globalist agenda.
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