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The Senate failed Thursday to advance legislation funding the Department of Homeland Security, setting the stage for another partial government shutdown at midnight unless lawmakers reach a last-minute agreement.
In a 52–47 vote, all but one Democrat — Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania — opposed moving forward with the bill, which would fund DHS through September. The procedural motion required 60 votes to advance.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., voted against the measure in a procedural step that allows him to bring it up again.
Funding for DHS — which oversees Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection, the Coast Guard, FEMA and the Transportation Security Administration — is set to lapse at 12 a.m. Saturday. ICE and CBP operations would continue if funding expires because the agencies received billions in separate funding last year under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Dispute over ICE reforms
Democrats said they blocked the bill because it does not include reforms to ICE and CBP, which they have demanded in the wake of recent controversial enforcement actions.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said the bill “fails to make any progress on reining in ICE and stopping the violence.”
Democratic leaders have called for restrictions on immigration agents wearing masks, requirements that agents display identification and wear body cameras, standardized uniforms, and limits on enforcement actions at schools, churches, medical facilities, polling places and courts. They have also pushed for bans on racial profiling, warrant requirements to enter private property, and stricter use-of-force standards.
The reform demands intensified after Alex Pretti was shot and killed by immigration agents in Minneapolis last month.
Republicans argue negotiations are ongoing and accuse Democrats of risking a shutdown despite what they describe as progress.
“I think it’s up to the Dems to react to this,” Thune told reporters Thursday, describing the White House’s latest proposal as “pretty close” to an agreement.
President Donald Trump said some Democratic demands are “very, very hard to approve.”
Failed extension attempt
After the vote, Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., who has led negotiations with Democrats and the White House, sought unanimous consent to pass a two-week extension to allow more time for talks.
“We are working in good faith to find a pathway forward,” Britt said. “What we’re asking is, let us continue to do that.”
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., objected.
“Senate Democrats have been clear that we have all taken an oath … and this Department of Homeland Security, this ICE, is out of control,” Murphy said.
What happens next
Lawmakers are scheduled to leave Washington for recess, though Thune said senators would be called back within 24 hours if a deal is reached.
“If and when there’s a breakthrough, we’ll make sure people are here to vote on it,” he said.
Schumer said Democratic negotiators would remain available “24/7” if Republicans and the White House return with a revised proposal.
“Today’s strong vote was a shot across the bow to Republicans,” Schumer said.
The standoff mirrors an earlier impasse this month that resulted in a four-day partial shutdown before lawmakers agreed to fund all agencies except DHS through the end of the fiscal year and temporarily extend DHS funding for two weeks.
If a deal is not reached by midnight, DHS would face another lapse in appropriations — though immigration enforcement operations would largely continue under prior funding.
