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Alex Pretti, Renee Good shootings could push govt into shutdown; Dems take a call on ICE funding
Political tensions rise after the ICE shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. Senate Democrats to resist DHS funding.
Political tensions escalate following the ICE and Border Patrol shooting in Minneapolis, killing a 37-year-old man, Alex Pretti, on Saturday morning. A growing faction of Senate Democrats is pushing back against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding that includes funding for ICE.
This comes after Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti, both Minneapolis locals, were fatally shot by federal agents in January.
The current DHS funding bill amounts to $64.4 billion, of which roughly $10 billion is allocated for ICE. The House narrowly approved the bill with 220-207, with seven Democrats joining all Republicans but one on January 22.
Read more: DHS funding bill: List of 7 Democrats who broke party lines to support Trump
How can this trigger a government shutdown?
The House sent a $1.2 trillion spending package to the Senate this week, with a looming deadline of January 30 to avoid another government shutdown after November 2025.
Senators vowed to step over another Government shutdown, but the Minneapolis shooting might have changed the course of the vow.
Polymarket, a prediction market, predicted that there is a 75 per cent chance of a government shutdown by January 31, given the growing number of Democrats refusing to pass the funding bill.
Read more: Could ICE funding be at risk after Minneapolis killing?
Democrats oppose ICE funding after Minneapolis shooting
Many senators and members of Congress have made clear that they may withhold support for the DHS funding bill.
The pushback comes after Democrat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) wrote on X, “DHS just shot a man in broad daylight two weeks after they shot a mother in the face without consequence. They need our votes to continue. We cannot give it to them. Every Senator should vote NO.”
She added, “We have a responsibility to protect Americans from tyranny.”
Senators Elizabeth Warren, Chris Van Hollen and many other democrats joined the train and have openly stated that they will not support DHS funding. “I’m a hell no — not a penny more for ICE. We should not fund this terror,” Warren wrote.
Senator Brian Schatz of Hawaii wrote, “I am voting against funding for DHS until and unless more controls are put in place to hold ICE accountable.”
