Senate Dems revolt against DHS funding bill amid Minneapolis chaos, hiking government shutdown risk

Congressional Democrats were already leery of backing funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) considering the agency's presence in Minnesota and beyond, but the shooting of 37-year-old Alex Pretti during an immigration enforcement operation has shattered what little unity they had on the bill. 

 "I will vote no," Schumer said. "Senate Democrats will not provide the votes to proceed to the appropriations bill if the DHS funding bill is included."

Schumer's play call serves as a blow to Senate Republicans, who worked with their colleagues across the aisle to find compromises in the DHS bill, in particular. It also comes as the Jan. 30 deadline to fund the government is rapidly approaching. Further complicating matters is the arctic storm ripping across the country, which has already forced the upper chamber to cancel votes on Monday. 

A senior Senate aide told Fox News Digital Senate Democrats had been saying for weeks they weren't interested in shutting down the government again and had praised the bipartisan nature of the government funding process up until Saturday.

"These bills were negotiated with Dems - they agreed to what's in them," the aide said.

The agency would be fully funded in the current proposal with several restrictions and reporting requirements that, if not met, would act as triggers to turn off certain cash flows. 

The lower chamber is gone until Feb. 2, making the likelihood of a partial shutdown much higher. 

Before the shooting, a handful of Senate Democrats had already made their opposition to the legislation known, including senators Chris Murphy, D-Conn., and Tim Kaine, D-Va.

Kaine notably crossed the aisle last year to join a cohort of Senate Democratic caucus members to reopen the government after the longest shutdown in U.S. history.

"My personal guiding principle has always been 'agree where you can and fight where you must,'" Rosen said in a statement. "And I believe this is a time when we must fight back."

A provision was added to the legislation before it passed the House that would combine the bills into one large package for the Senate to consider at once. It was then expected to be paired with other bills the Senate has not yet considered but which passed the House this month.

Changing that ahead of the Jan. 30 shutdown deadline would mean House lawmakers must return to Washington early to go through multiple procedural hurdles and another vote on the legislation, something House GOP leaders are ruling out, at least for now.

Even if House leaders changed their plans, the impending snowstorm would mean lawmakers may not return until Tuesday at the earliest. That would put final passage sometime Wednesday or Thursday, virtually guaranteeing Congress does not complete consideration of the bills until after the Friday deadline.

House GOP leaders would also likely be grappling with attendance issues if they did order a return, with various lawmakers on planned trips and over a dozen busy campaigning for higher office.

A partial government shutdown would mean only agencies that Congress has not yet funded would have to reduce or cease functions. In this case, payment to active duty troops, air traffic controllers and border patrol agents could all be affected.