BREAKING: Schumer Shutdown II Averted In New Deal

Assuming the House can reconvene in time before a midnight expiration on Friday, another Schumer Shutdown has been averted. A new deal between Chuck Schumer and Donald Trump will extend DHS funding for another two weeks, while passing the rest of the FY2026 omnibus:

 Senate Democrats reached a deal with the White House late Thursday to prevent a partial government shutdown by moving to temporarily fund the Department of Homeland Security for two weeks, providing more time to negotiate new restrictions for federal immigration agents carrying out President Trump’s deportation campaign. …

Under the agreement, funding for the Department of Homeland Security will be extended for two weeks, while the Pentagon, the State Department, as well as the health, education, labor and transportation departments, will be funded through Sept. 30, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s office confirmed to The Times.

While the Senate could approve the deal as early as Thursday night, it is unclear when the House will vote for the package. To avert a government shutdown, both chambers need to approve the deal by midnight EST Friday.

Well, kinda. A shutdown is a term of art. The director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has to declare a shutdown, and Russ Vought could just ignore the funding gap over the weekend. House Speaker Mike Johnson will undoubtedly put out the bat-signal and get the lower chamber assembled as quickly as possible, certainly with enough time to pass the Senate versions of the deal components fairly quickly. 

Trump seemed pleased with the arrangement. He posted on Truth Social shortly before news of the deal went public that he was hoping to fund the “the vast majority of the government” now, while working on DHS:

America is setting Records in every way, and our Growth Numbers are among the best ever. The only thing that can slow our Country down is another long and damaging Government Shutdown. I am working hard with Congress to ensure that we are able to fully fund the Government, without delay. Republicans and Democrats in Congress have come together to get the vast majority of the Government funded until September, while at the same time providing an extension to the Department of Homeland Security (including the very important Coast Guard, which we are expanding and rebuilding like never before). Hopefully, both Republicans and Democrats will give a very much needed Bipartisan “YES” Vote. PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP

A two-week CR should be enough to trade some concessions, within reason. Democrats want more restrictions on ICE operations, but they’re likely to just get more training (in the current bill), body cams (also in the current bill), and more access to ICE facilities. Democrats want a ban on face masks for ICE and Border Patrol agents, but that may not be as practical. If those talks bog down, though, don’t forget that Trump has that $75 billion independent fund for border security and immigration enforcement from the One Big Beautiful Bill for an agency that gets $28 billion a year. 

At any rate, this will allow Republicans to finally start working on the FY2027 budget and a new reconciliation package for health-care reform. And I suspect that Democrats who vote for this deal are going to be dealing with some very unhappy and disilusioned radicals over the next few weeks, who wanted ICE abolished rather than funded. Pass the popcorn. 

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