A key senator who helped broker the end to the previous government shutdown announced Sunday he will not support the current funding package, significantly increasing the chances of another federal closure by week’s end.
Senator Angus King, an Independent from Maine who caucuses with Democrats, told CBS’ Face the Nation that he cannot back the six-bill funding package because it includes money for the Department of Homeland Security.
King played a critical role in resolving the last shutdown and was among just eight members of the Senate Democratic caucus who crossed party lines to vote with Republicans to reopen the government, according to media reports.
King’s opposition stems from the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old nurse, by a Border Patrol agent in Minneapolis on Saturday.
The incident has sparked fury among congressional Democrats who have strongly criticized Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents for conducting operations in Minnesota and other states.
Before Saturday’s shooting, Democratic lawmakers had reluctantly agreed to support the DHS funding bill.
The weekend tragedy appears to have completely altered their position on the matter.
“I hate shutdowns,” King stated during his Sunday interview.
“I’m one of the people that helped negotiate the solution to the last — the end of the last shutdown, but I can’t vote for a bill that includes ICE funding under the circumstances.”
The Maine senator’s stance aligns with an announcement from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, who declared that Senate Democrats would not support the legislation.
This unified Democratic opposition makes a partial government shutdown before Friday increasingly probable.
The timing of King’s decision coincides with ICE conducting an operation called “Catch of the Day” in his home state of Maine.
The enforcement action comes as Democratic Governor Janet Mills is campaigning to defeat Senator Susan Collins, a Republican, in what could be a decisive Senate race for determining which party controls the chamber.
King proposed what he called an “easy way out” of the current funding impasse.
He suggested that Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a Republican from South Dakota, could separate the DHS funding bill from the other five bills and allow senators to vote on them individually. However, even if the Senate were to adopt King’s approach, the House of Representatives would still need to weigh in on any modified legislation.
The lower chamber is not scheduled to return to Washington, D.C., until next month, making a partial government shutdown by Friday almost certain unless lawmakers can quickly reach a compromise.
“Let’s have an honest negotiation,” King said during the interview.
“Put some guardrails on what’s going on, some accountability, and that would solve this problem. We don’t have to have a shutdown.”
The current situation represents a significant shift in Democratic positioning on homeland security funding.
Prior to the Minneapolis shooting, Democrats had been prepared to support the funding package despite their reservations about ICE enforcement activities.
The death of Pretti has become a rallying point for Democratic opposition to the funding bill.
Congressional Democrats have been vocal in their criticism of ICE operations in Minnesota and other locations across the country, according to media reports.
