WSJ (gated) reported Trump and Senate Democrats struck a shutdown-avoidance deal that funds most agencies long-term while giving DHS a two-week stopgap to extend immigration talks.
Summary
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The Wall Street Journal reported that President Trump and Senate Democrats say they’ve reached a deal to avert a partial US government shutdown by splitting off Homeland Security funding.
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The plan would fast-track five full-year appropriations bills and fund DHS with a two-week continuing resolution, extending talks on immigration enforcement.
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The agreement comes after Democrats balked at a DHS bill amid fallout from the Minneapolis killing of Alex Pretti by federal immigration agents.
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Even with a deal, timing risk remains: if the House must return to vote, there is still a chance of a short lapse before funding is finalised.
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The outcome reduces broad shutdown risk near-term, but keeps DHS/ICE policy disputes live into the next deadline window.
The Wall Street Journal reported that President Donald Trump and Senate Democrats say they have reached an agreement designed to avert a partial US government shutdown by decoupling Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding from the rest of the federal budget package.
Under the proposed framework, the Senate would move quickly on five of six spending bills that have already cleared the House, funding most federal agencies through the remainder of the fiscal year. DHS would be handled separately via a two-week continuing resolution, effectively buying time for negotiations over contentious immigration enforcement provisions and funding for agencies such as ICE and Border Patrol.
Trump publicly endorsed the approach, urging lawmakers in both parties to support the package. The political logic is straightforward: it reduces the risk that a dispute focused on immigration policy triggers a wider shutdown across unrelated departments and services. It also narrows the negotiation battlefield to DHS and immigration enforcement, rather than holding the entire budget hostage.
The push to split DHS funding gathered momentum after Senate Democrats resisted advancing a DHS bill, with internal party pressure intensifying in the aftermath of the Minneapolis killing of Alex Pretti, a case that has generated national controversy and competing official narratives. Reuters reported that a preliminary CBP review raised questions about earlier claims made by Trump administration officials, while video evidence and reporting have complicated the initial account of events.
In practical terms, a two-week DHS stopgap keeps Homeland Security funded while negotiators attempt to reach compromises on enforcement restrictions and oversight demands. However, it also sets up another near-term deadline that can reintroduce brinkmanship if talks stall. The timing of votes matters as well: even if Senate action is swift, the House may need to return to Washington to pass a modified package, creating a risk of a brief funding lapse if deadlines collide with travel and scheduling constraints.
For markets, the near-term takeaway is modestly supportive: the deal lowers the probability of broad federal disruption, while keeping political headline risk concentrated around DHS and immigration policy into the next negotiating window.
This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at investinglive.com.