Senate Struggles to Pass DHS Funding, GOP Lacks 60 Votes as Jan. 30 Deadline Looms
Congress is racing to fund the government before a January 30 deadline and the unresolved Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill, which includes funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, is at the center of the fight. Republicans hold the majority in the Senate but, under the chamber’s filibuster rules, most spending bills must secure 60 votes to advance, a threshold they cannot meet on their own.
The DHS bill has become a sticking point as lawmakers grapple with renewed demands from some Democrats to attach reforms or restrictions on ICE funding after the fatal shooting of a Minnesota woman by an ICE agent. Those negotiations have so far prevented the bill from moving forward with broad bipartisan support in either chamber.
Republican leadership has said negotiations are ongoing, but a lack of agreement has led to the DHS measure being pulled from a recent spending package to buy more time for talks. Senate Republicans and Democrats continue consulting on how best to reach the needed 60-vote majority.
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“There’s no bipartisan path forward for the Department of Homeland Security right now,” a Democratic lawmaker said this week, highlighting the depth of the impasse.
With six of the 12 spending bills now passed, the focus is on how to handle the most contentious ones, including DHS. The clock is ticking, and lawmakers are evaluating whether to adopt a short-term funding extension or push for a final compromise.
If the Senate cannot build a consensus on the DHS bill before January 30, parts of the government could face funding interruptions, and Republicans may need Democratic votes or procedural workarounds to clear the measure.
What happens next will determine whether the government avoids another funding crisis and how — or whether — ICE funding is tied to policy reforms.
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