Government shutdown looms after MN killings
By: Zachary Schermele
USA Today
WASHINGTON - Another government shutdown is on its way.
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Once more, both parties in congress have quickly dug into seemingly intractable positions, jeopardizing the remaining bills that lawmakers must pass by January 30 [2026] to bankroll important government agencies from the Pentagon to the Health and Human Services Department.
..... Democrats are uniformly refusing to fund the Department of Homeland Security until congressional Republicans and President Donald Trump agree to deeper reforms to federal immigration enforcement.
..... GOP lawmakers aren't giving an inch either. They're forcing Democrats to potentially sacrifice a long-toiled-over bipartisan funding agreement, risking yet another shutdown just two and a half months after the last one.
..... The impending political crisis is shaping up to be another defining challenge of Trump's second term. and it will be a new test of both Congressional Democratizes' resolve to fight the White House and the GOP's red lines with the Trump administration.
..... Productive talks between both sides are ongoing. Senate Majority Leader John Thune R-South Dakota, said on the Senate floor January 27. [2026] But there isn't much time to strike a deal.
..... "I urge my Democrat colleagues to continue their engagement and find a path forward that will avoid a needless shutdown," he said.
..... If another shutdown hits, it'll be different from the last in a few key ways.
..... Congress has already passed six of its dozen annual appropriations bills, so it would only be a partial shutdown, not a full one. unlike last time, congressional staffers and Capitol Police would still get paid. So would employees of the Justice Department and Department of Veterans Affairs.
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Still, familiar pain points will slowly start to reemerge if lawmakers breeze past the January 30 [2026] deadline. Namely, funding for the Transpiration Security Administration will be at risk, endangering airline flights. Funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Coast Guard may also be impacted as all of thus divisions fall underneath the DHS umbrella.
..... In hopes of shielding the rest of the federal government from a protracted shutdown, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, has urged Republican to separate out the DHS appropriations bill from the others. Democrats can't vote on any legislation that funds ICE, he said January 27, [2026] until "it is reined in and overhauled."
..... "Senate Democrats are overwhelmingly united on this issue," he said on the Senate floor.
..... So far, GOP leaders haven't budged. They're proceeding as planned, with a vote to avert a shutdown expected on January 29. [2026]
..... Even if Senate Republicans conceded to breaking up the funding package, the bills would be kicked back to the House of Representatives, which is on a week-long recess. The likelihood of Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson calling lawmakers back to Washington before the weekend is low -especially without any concrete bipartisan deal.