Trump, Democrats seek to head off shutdown as funding bill fails in Senate

WASHINGTON: Democrats in the US Senate on Thursday blocked legislation that would fund wide swaths of the government beyond a Friday deadline as they negotiated with President Donald Trump to rein in aggressive immigration enforcement tactics.

The government could be forced into a partial shutdown starting on Saturday if a deal is not reached, but sources on both sides said they were making progress as they seek to avoid that outcome.

“There have been very constructive discussions and conversations I’ve been part of, and so let’s just say I’m hopeful,” Senate Republican Leader John Thune told reporters.

Trump said at the White House that his administration would work in a bipartisan way to avoid a shutdown.

Angered by the shooting of a second US citizen by immigration agents in Minneapolis last weekend, Senate Democrats are demanding new restrictions on US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), including an end to roving patrols, a ban on face masks, and a requirement to wear body cameras.

The shooting spurred widespread outrage, prompting Trump’s administration to de-escalate operations in the region.

On Thursday, all 47 Senate Democrats and eight Republicans blocked funding legislation for ICE and several other federal agencies, leaving it short of the 60 votes needed to clear a procedural hurdle. The vote illustrated the unease expressed by some of Trump’s Republican allies about ICE tactics in recent days. That could trigger a partial shutdown for a wide range of government operations when funding expires at midnight Friday.

Democrats are pushing to carve out funding for ICE’s parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security, from the broader spending package, which would enable the Senate to ensure funding is not disrupted for the Pentagon, health programs, and other government operations.

Democrats also are seeking a temporary spending extension for DHS to buy more time for negotiations.

Democratic Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia told reporters that the two sides are now negotiating over how long that DHS funding extension should be.