Senate Democrats voted Thursday to block a House-passed bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security, putting Washington on the brink of a partial government shutdown that will affect more than 260,000 federal employees.
By Catholics for Catholics
After a showdown between Republicans and Democrats, a U.S. Senate vote blocked a bill that would have funded the Department of Homeland Security, sending the agency into a shutdown as Democrats pressed the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
According to Newsmax, the 52-47 vote lacked the 60 votes needed to advance the legislation, placing the agency close to a shutdown if funding expires on Saturday, though any real-world impact could be minimal.
Entrenched, Democrats vowed not to support funding the agency unless Republicans consent to reforms that would keep in line immigration officers. The department faces a backlash after agents killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis last month.
The standoff reaches new heights for the negotiating tactics of the Democrats with congressional Republicans and White House officials, who have been in discussions over reforming the 9/11-era Cabinet agency since the killing of a second Minnesotan, 37-year-old nurse Alex Pretti, by federal agents in January.
🚨 HOLY CRAP. Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) just JUMPED SHIP, demanding Senate Democrats stop playing political games and FUND DHS
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) February 13, 2026
"ICE already has $75B from the Big Beautiful Bill!"
"This shutdown will will hit FEMA, Coast Guard, TSA and our Cybersecurity Agency!"
"As a… pic.twitter.com/Ja676Ad5f0
A lack of funding for the agency will affect the Transportation Security Administration, Coast Guard and Federal Emergency Management Agency, among other divisions where services will be reduced and many workers will stay on the job without pay. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, of which Congress gave a surplus of funding last year, will continue operating.
In a deal between both parties to end the most recent partial shutdown, funding for DHS was extended through Friday, Feb. 13. The legislators were hoping to delay coming to a compromise around reforming ICE and Customs and Border Protection, or CBP.
But the Democrats on Feb. 4 presented a list of 10 demands, which included a ban on mask-wearing for federal agents, stricter use-of-force standards and prohibiting immigration enforcement operations in “sensitive locations” such as schools and churches.
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