Senate Dems could force gov’t shutdown over $64.4B DHS funding after Minneapolis shooting of Alex Pretti

WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats alike are vowing to tank a Homeland Security funding bill ahead of the Friday deadline — which would trigger a partial government shutdown after border patrol shot an armed ICU nurse in Minneapolis Saturday.

The $64.4 billion funding bill had only just squeaked by the House last week in a 220-207 vote, barely overcoming controversy over the immigration crackdown in Minneapolis, but now the Saturday shooting of Alex Pretti has seemingly emboldened Senate Democrats to kill it.

“The Trump Administration and Kristi Noem are putting undertrained, combative federal agents on the streets with no accountability,” Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) said in a statement Saturday. “They are oppressing Americans and are at odds with local law enforcement. This is clearly not about keeping Americans safe, it’s brutalizing U.S. citizens and law-abiding immigrants.”

“I will not support the current Homeland Security funding bill. We have bipartisan agreement on 96% of the budget,” she added.