The U.S. government is on the brink of a partial shutdown beginning at 12:01 a.m. ET Saturday in large part because of a second recent killing of a U.S. citizen by federal agents in Minneapolis. It would be different than last year’s shutdown.
The killing of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse, has galvanized fierce Senate Democratic opposition to a House-passed measure providing funding for the Department of Homeland Security and a slew of other agencies. The more-than-$1.2 trillion package cleared the House of Representatives last week and accounts for the bulk of government spending for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30.
Democratic support will be required to pass the bill, which needs 60 votes to avert the filibuster in the Senate that Republicans control 53-47. Democrats are demanding the DHS portion be stripped in exchange for their votes, something Republicans have signaled they will not do.
If the Senate alters the bill at all, it would have to be reapproved by the House, which is out on a prescheduled recess and has not announced plans to return before the deadline.
In addition to DHS, the bill would fund the departments of Defense, Treasury, State, Health and Human Services, Labor, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, and Education.
