The government will run out of money soon. It’s been something of a dirge atmosphere since the shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, which has animated leftists and sent Democrats huddling in the corner on how to screw over the Department of Homeland Security, including a new provision on ICE warrants, which is to say they want to hamstring the agency from making more illegal alien arrests.
The protocols they’re reportedly pitching are peak byzantine, and the GOP should tell them to shove it. That might not be an option as President Trump and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer are reportedly close to hashing out a deal to avert a shutdown. In short, the bulk of the spending bills passed by the House will sail through before midnight on Friday. The appropriations for DHS will be voted on separately, likely as a short-term stopgap measure to provide time to negotiate a new DHS spending bill. And new regulations on how deportation raids are carried out will be on the table (via NYT):
#BREAKING: Trump, Schumer near deal to avert shutdown; DHS funding split out.
— Insider Wire (@InsiderWire) January 29, 2026
NEW.
— Lisa Desjardins (@LisaDNews) January 28, 2026
Schumer lays out what Democrats want re: ICE and immigration crackdown.
1. End roving patrols and tighten warrant requirements.
2. Enforce code of conduct and accountability for officers’ conduct.
3. Masks off, body cameras and IDs on/accessible for all agents.
President Trump and Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the minority leader, moved on Wednesday night toward a possible agreement to negotiate new restrictions on federal immigration agents, potentially averting a government shutdown early Saturday when funding for multiple federal agencies is slated to lapse.
Under the emerging plan, according to two officials knowledgeable about it, the Senate would split off legislation funding the Department of Homeland Security from a six-bill package of spending measures needed to keep the military, health programs and other federal agencies funded for the remainder of the fiscal year.
The Senate would pass those bills before a Friday midnight deadline, and Congress also would consider a short-term extension for homeland security operations, which would prevent an interruption of services by the Transportation Security Agency, Coast Guard and Federal Emergency Management Agency.
That stopgap bill would provide time for talks between lawmakers and the White House to draft a new homeland security spending bill that would include new restrictions that Democrats have demanded on the tactics of immigration enforcement officers and more accountability for those accused of using excessive force.
The House did its part, passing everything before the winter storm that smashed into the South and Mid-Atlantic states. That collection of bills funds most of the government through September, but the Senate is slow. It’s their tradition, and the only way it was going to breeze through was if no one objected to unanimous consent, which was going to happen. The Pretti shooting all but killed the hope of the initial framework passing, as Democrats vowed to oppose the DHS bill in its current form.
Trump later stepped in to clean up the mess, made Tom Homan the head honcho in Minneapolis, reached out to local Democrats, and is now working with Schumer to avert a shutdown. We shall see. If anything, we might have a partial shutdown, but I don’t think either side has an appetite for this right now. Whatever is hashed out will likely pass, which makes me a bit nervous since what Democrats want regarding new ICE restrictions is likely going to be insane.
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