SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
The shooting and killing of Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis this weekend may have a big effect on Congress. Funding for several federal agencies expires midnight Friday. Senate Democrats have now mobilized to block funding for the Department of Homeland Security in response to Pretti's death. And if lawmakers are unable to break the impasse, that could lead to a partial government shutdown at the end of the week. Joining us now to discuss all of this is NPR congressional correspondent Claudia Grisales. Hey, Claudia.
CLAUDIA GRISALES, BYLINE: Hey, Scott.
DETROW: So the Senate was on track to pass this final round of funding bills, with bipartisan support. How has the death of Alex Pretti changed that?
GRISALES: Right. And to recap, the House passed this $1.3 trillion spending package to fund big areas of the federal government past Friday night, and it would include funding for the departments of Defense and Health and Human Services and others, and it did draw bipartisan votes. But Senate Democrats, on their end, had signaled this would be easily passed in their chamber this week. However, with the death of Pretti, we saw a 180. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer says Democrats will block this entire funding package unless the DHS funding is split off from it. And Schumer said that the legislation, as written, is, quote, "woefully inadequate to rein in the abuses of ICE," end quote.
DETROW: Now, let's turn our head back to the last shutdown. There was that split among Democrats about holding out for health care subsidies. Are you seeing similar tension, similar splits in the caucus when it comes to what to do with Homeland Security funding?
GRISALES: No, this is very different, even as Republicans push back on Democrats' plans to block this entire funding package if DHS is not pulled out of it. One aide told me that when we saw the killing of Renee Good earlier this month, that some said this was a one-off. But they argue that with the death of Alex Pretti, this is now part of a disturbing and alarming trend. And for Democrats, the intensity of the resolve is higher this time. And the Democrats we saw defect last time to end the government shutdown, such as Nevada Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, have already said they're nos this time. And so far, we've just seen one Democrat say he'll vote for the package. That's John Fetterman of Pennsylvania. He says he doesn't vote for shutdowns. So he may be on an island for his party this time around.
DETROW: What are Republicans saying?
GRISALES: Well, most Republicans are standing by the administration's policy in general, but we're seeing more and more call for answers. That includes Pennsylvania Senator Dave McCormick, who said he agreed with a statement issued by the NRA that there needs to be a full investigation. The NRA had taken issue with comments from Trump officials saying that Pretti was armed, so his killing may have been justified. We also know that the chair of House Homeland Security, New York's Andrew Garbarino, is also calling for an oversight hearing with DHS officials. We know DHS Secretary Kristi Noem will go before the Senate Judiciary Committee in March, but that is not soon enough for many.
As for leadership, we're hearing Senate Majority Leader John Thune applaud Trump's decision to send Tom Homan to Minneapolis. He is hoping that will cool down temperatures there. And a spokesman for Thune said Monday, Republicans do not plan to separate the DHS funding bill out. So at this rate, we could be headed for a partial shutdown come this weekend.
DETROW: That is NPR congressional correspondent Claudia Grisales. Claudia, thanks so much.
GRISALES: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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