Fetterman bucks Democrats, says party put politics over country in DHS shutdown standoff

But Fetterman believed that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and his party were missing the point.

"This shutdown literally has zero impact on ICE functionality," Fetterman said in a post on X. "Country over party is refusing to hit the entire Department of Homeland Security. Democracy demands a way forward to reform ICE without damaging our critical national security agencies."

Senate Democrats' refusal to fund DHS this week has made a partial government shutdown affecting only DHS inevitable. The deadline to strike a deal is midnight Friday, and the likelihood of that happening is nearly nonexistent.

But to Fetterman's point, shutting down DHS won't halt the cash flow to immigration operations.

But other functions under DHS' purview, like TSA, FEMA, the Coast Guard and more, will experience the brunt of the partial shutdown.

Negotiations on striking a deal are expected to continue in the background, and Senate Democrats have signaled that they're considering offering a counteroffer to the White House in response to the GOP proposal.

Still, a vote to reopen and fund the agency won't happen until early next week at best.