Senate Democrats are lining up against the Department of Homeland Security funding measure, decrying a bill that “allows ICE to keep terrorizing our communities,” as Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., put it.
The bill passed the House with just seven Democratic votes on Thursday. On its own, the DHS bill might fail in the Senate next week. But there’s a twist: It may ultimately pass because it’s rolled into five other House-passed spending bills that Democrats generally support.
Senate Democrats will need to put up seven or more votes to break a filibuster next week and avoid a broader shutdown on Jan. 30. That drama follows Thursday’s wobbly House action, which included a last-minute rebellion over ethanol sales that ended in what Rep. Zach Nunn, R-Iowa, called a “firm commitment” for heartlanders to sit down with Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins.