Could The Government Shutdown Over ICE Minneapolis Killing?
The likelihood of a partial U.S. government shutdown increased on Jan. 25 as outrage grew over the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by federal immigration agents in Minnesota on Jan. 24, the second deadly incident involving immigration enforcement this month.
Democrat Angus King says he won’t support the funding package due to DHS’s misconduct in Minneapolis.
A growing number of Democratic senators have warned they will oppose a sweeping $1.2 trillion government funding package if it includes money for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Their opposition stems from Pretti’s death and other recent incidents involving federal agents in Minneapolis.
Even Sen. Angus King of Maine, an independent who previously helped broker a bipartisan deal to end the longest government shutdown in U.S. history in 2025, said he cannot support the current package if it includes DHS funding.
“I hate shutdowns,” King said on Face the Nation Sunday, according to CBS News. “But I can’t vote for a bill that includes ICE funding under these circumstances— what they’re doing in my state, what we saw yesterday in Minneapolis,” he added, referring to an immigration enforcement operation launched in Maine last week.
What happened to Alex Pretti?
Tensions among King and other Democrats escalated further following the fatal shooting of Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse and U.S. citizen, early Saturday in Minneapolis. Pretti was shot by a CBP agent while attempting to protect a woman an agent had pushed to the ground and began pepper-spraying. Videos verified by ABC News show Pretti using his phone to record the agents before he was shoved by a federal officer. Moments later, an officer repeatedly pepper-sprayed Pretti, appeared to pull him into the street, and another officer fired 10 fatal shots.
Pretti’s death reignited Democratic concerns over DHS funding, which were already heightened following the Jan. 7 fatal shooting of Minneapolis resident Renee Good by an ICE officer.
King, who caucuses with Democrats, said there is a clear path to avoiding a shutdown. He urged Senate Majority Leader John Thune to remove DHS funding from the broader package and address it separately.
“If those bills pass, 96% of the federal government is funded,” King said. “Take up DHS by itself, let’s have an honest negotiation, put some guardrails on what’s going on, some accountability, and that would solve this problem.”
Senators Chuck Schumer and Catherine Cortez Masto are also against the funding package. Here’s what’s in the government funding package.
Lawmakers in both parties and chambers have spent weeks working to pass the remaining appropriations bills ahead of the Jan. 30 funding deadline. Six of the 12 annual funding measures have already passed Congress and been signed into law. The remaining six — which cleared the House earlier this month — were bundled together to speed passage in the Senate.
Those bills fund the Departments of Defense, Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, State, Treasury, and other related agencies. Included in the package is funding for DHS.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said nothing involving DHS funding could move forward unless the violence in Minnesota stops.
“Senate Democrats will not allow the current DHS funding bill to move forward,” Schumer said in a statement Sunday. “Senate Republicans have seen the same horrific footage that all Americans have watched of the blatant abuses of Americans by ICE in Minnesota,” the Democrat continued. “The appalling murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti on the streets of Minneapolis must lead Republicans to join Democrats in overhauling ICE and CBP to protect the public,” he added. “People should be safe from abuse by their own government.”
Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., who joined Republicans to end the 2025 shutdown, echoed similar concerns.
“The Trump Administration and Kristi Noem are putting undertrained, combative federal agents on the streets with no accountability. They are oppressing Americans and are at odds with local law enforcement. This is clearly not about keeping Americans safe, it’s brutalizing U.S. citizens and law-abiding immigrants. I will not support the current Homeland Security funding bill.”
She added, “We have bipartisan agreement on 96% of the budget. We’ve already passed six funding bills. Let’s pass the remaining five bipartisan bills and fund essential agencies while we continue to fight for a Department of Homeland Security that respects Americans’ constitutional rights and preserves federal law enforcement’s essential role to keep us safe.”
Republicans are not budging on alterations.
Despite the opposition, Republican leadership indicated they do not plan to alter the funding package. A person familiar with Senate Republican leadership told CNBC that DHS funding would not be removed.
“Government funding expires at the end of the week, and Republicans are determined to not have another government shutdown,” the insider claimed. “We will move forward as planned and hope Democrats can find a path forward to join us.”
Without Senate approval by Friday, Jan. 30, parts of the federal government will enter a partial shutdown. The legislation requires 60 votes to overcome a filibuster in the Senate. Republicans hold a 53–47 majority, meaning Democratic support is necessary for passage.
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