Government shutdown deadline just hours away as Senate begins votes on funding deal

The Senate tabled Republican Sen. Mike Lee's third amendment in a 58 to 42 vote. The amendment aimed to defund the United States African Development Foundation, citing allegations of corruption against one of its leaders.

Senators are now voting on an amendment from independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont that would repeal the $75 billion funding increase that ICE received as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and redirect those funds to Medicaid. 

"When you give ICE that huge amount of money, you are not talking about an agency for immigration and customs enforcement, you are talking about a domestic army," Sanders said. "We don't need a domestic army in America to terrorize people, we need to guarantee healthcare to all Americans."

Unlike the other amendments in this vote series, 60 votes are needed for adoption. 

In a 58 to 42 vote, the Senate blocked a second amendment from Lee that would strike an earmark for a community and training center for a New York nonprofit that serves immigrants.

Senators blocked an amendment from Lee to remove earmarks from the funding package, in a 67 to 33 vote. 

The upper chamber is moving on to a second amendment from Lee. 

The Senate rejected an amendment from GOP Sen. Eric Schmitt of Missouri by voice vote. The amendment was related to the National Endowment for Democracy, which Schmitt said had drifted from its intended purpose to support democratic institutions around the world. 

The chamber is now considering an amendment from Lee to remove earmarks from the funding package. Sen. Susan Collins, the top GOP appropriator who negotiated the funding package, spoke in opposition to the amendment, stressing that "members of Congress understand the needs of our constituents far better than any well-intentioned federal employee located here in Washington."

The Senate is voting on the first amendment in the series of seven. 

Sen. Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican, advocated for his amendment concerning fraud in Minnesota welfare programs on the Senate floor ahead of vote.

Paul said his amendment would dictate "no more welfare for refugees until a nationwide investigation of the level of this fraud," and until "Congress balances the budget." 

"America can't be the world's sugar daddy when we can't even afford the welfare for our own citizens," Paul said. 

Sen. Tammy Baldwin, a Wisconsin Democrat, spoke in opposition to the amendment, calling it "ill-advised" and urging senators to oppose it. 

After stalling votes earlier, Graham said he secured an agreement from Thune to vote on legislation to crackdown on sanctuary cities and to allow broader lawsuits stemming from special counsel Jack Smith's investigation into the 2020 election. 

"He just informed me that he is supportive of my efforts to have a vote on my bill to end sanctuary city policies once and for all, by making it a federal crime for state and local officials to willfully violate federal immigration laws," Graham said in a statement. "Leader Thune also supports, at a time to be determined, a vote on creating the ability for groups and private citizens, not members of Congress, that may have been harmed by Jack Smith and the Biden DOJ to have their day in court." 

"I will lift my hold and vote for the package," he said. 

The votes on Graham's proposals are expected at a later date. 

Thune locked in a time agreement for votes on the funding package, with votes on seven amendments. 

The majority leader told reporters heading into the Senate chamber that votes would begin "soon."

Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters at the Capitol that leaders are "still working on a couple things" as they look to address member opposition and set up the votes on the funding plan. 

"We're getting closer," Thune added

Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, took to the Senate floor to criticize GOP holdups, encouraging his colleagues to move ahead with the plan to fund the government. 

"We're going to shut down the government because some Republicans refuse to take a win," Tillis said. 

Tillis said Mr. Trump "agrees with what we can do to avoid a shutdown," citing his endorsement of the deal with Senate Democrats on Thursday night. 

"If we have a shutdown, we own it," Tillis added. 

The North Carolina Republican argued it's "wrong for us to shut down the government to make a point." And he said the vast majority of Republicans are "ready to go."

"If we shut the government down today, we created the problem — and we need to fix it," he said.

A House GOP conference call has been pushed back a few hours, according to a source familiar with the plans, as the lower chamber waits for the Senate to pass a funding package. The call was originally planned for 11 a.m., but is now scheduled for 4:30 p.m. 

Graham addressed a move by the House to repeal a law that allows senators whose phone records were seized by the Justice Department during the Biden administration to sue for $500,000. The provision was heavily criticized by House lawmakers, who voted unanimously to repeal it when they passed the funding package last week.

Graham was one of the senators whose phone records were searched, and previously said he intended to sue under the new law. He criticized the House for repealing the law in full, including a portion that requires senators to be notified if their records are seized and they are not the target of an investigation.

"You could have called me about the 500,000 — I'd be glad to work with you. You jammed me," Graham said. "Speaker Johnson, I won't forget this. I got a lot of good friends in the House. If you think I'm going to give up on this, you really don't know me."

Graham said he would demand a vote on an amendment to extend the ability to sue to Republican groups who may have been improperly targeted by federal investigators, and restore the provision about notifying lawmakers' offices. 

"Everybody says, 'Well, it passed unanimously in the House.' I could care less. What you did, I think, is wrong. You overreacted," he said. "We'll fix the 500,000, but you took the notification out. I'm not going to give up on that."

In a floor speech, Graham said he would not allow the funding deal to move forward unless he gets votes on legislation to crackdown on sanctuary cities and another on giving more people the ability to sue over special counsel Jack Smith's investigation.

"I will not lift my hold on this bill until I get guaranteed a vote on my legislation that would criminalize the conduct going forward," the South Carolina Republican said. "What conduct am I talking about? State and local officials openly defying federal law that's been on the books for decades, incentivizing more illegal immigration, massive taxpayer ripoff and a breakdown of law and order. To these 12 states: you're screwing it up for the rest of us. You need to change your policies and comply with the law that's been on the books for decades, and this should be a punishment. To me, what you're doing is you're inciting chaos." 

Graham said he could not remember ever putting a hold on an appropriations bill, but said it was necessary because "what happened in Minnesota has to be addressed." 

"There are things being done on the ICE side that a lot of Americans are uncomfortable with. I get that," Graham said. "If you want to have more accountability, count me in. But your rhetoric, count me out." 

Graham said lawmakers can be "unnerved" by the actions of immigration enforcement in Minnesota, but argued the solutions being offered are insufficient. 

"The problem is, you want Band-Aid solutions," Graham said. 

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said he hopes the upper chamber "can get voting quickly" on a funding package after movement stalled last night. 

"Members are working on moving forward on a deal to fund the government and working on legislation desperately needed to rein in ICE's abuses," Schumer said on the Senate floor. 

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said the proposed two-week extension on DHS funding underscores the "urgency" in addressing concerns about immigration enforcement officials' conduct. 

"We have to deal with the issue of reining ICE and the Department of Homeland Security in with the fierce urgency of now," Jeffries told reporters. "A two-week window will evaluate whether that's sufficient time, but there's urgency to dealing with this issue, because ICE, as we've seen, is out of control." 

Jeffries reiterated the demands of Democrats to reform ICE — including requiring officers to wear body cameras, judicial warrants for arrests, banning officers from wearing masks and others. 

Still, Jeffries would not explicitly say whether he supports the deal reached between Senate Democrats and the White House. 

"[The] Senate has to do its thing before we have anything to evaluate, but I'm going to remain in close contact with Leader Schumer, and hopefully they'll get something done today," he said. 

The Senate will reconvene at 11 a.m., according to a notice from Majority Whip John Barrasso's office, and will resume consideration of the motion to proceed to the six-bill funding package. 

No votes are currently scheduled, but the next step in finalizing the plan will likely be a vote on cloture on the motion to proceed. That would require 60 votes to succeed. Doing so would allow the chamber to amend the current version of the funding package to strip out DHS funding, with the goal of extending DHS funding at current levels for two weeks instead.

Senators could bypass formal votes with unanimous consent at any step of the process, if all 100 members agree to fast-track passage.

Late Thursday, Graham told reporters he was opposed to the agreement. After leaving a meeting in Senate Majority Leader John Thune's office, Graham pointed to heated criticism of federal immigration agents as Democrats push for changes to enforcement practices, saying: "I've never been more offended than I am right now of what's being said about these folks."

Graham's opposition could prevent Senate leadership from quickly moving forward through unanimous consent.

"This is a bad deal," Graham said.

Lawmakers left the Capitol without voting Thursday. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters the bill was held up by Graham, saying Senate Republicans "need to get their act together."

Asked about Graham's concerns, Thune said: "I hope we can get these issues resolved. Right now, we've got snags on both sides, but tomorrow's another day."

While funding will almost certainly lapse at midnight, the actual work of shutting down the government is a process that each relevant agency undertakes to determine what activities are essential, which workers will be furloughed and which will continue to work. The White House Office of Management and Budget coordinates each agency's procedures and tells them when they should begin implementing them. 

That process typically wouldn't begin until Monday, and might not happen at all if the White House determines that funding is close to being approved. Lawmakers often intentionally craft funding bills to expire on Fridays to give themselves some breathing space to finalize a deal before the start of the work week.

If the Senate successfully passes its spending plan on Friday, the focus would then turn to the House. Speaker Mike Johnson has said that the chamber would approve it on Monday, and the president would sign it soon after, ending the funding lapse.

President Trump threw his support behind the deal with Democrats in a post on Truth Social on Thursday evening, urging members of both parties to support the agreement. 

"The only thing that can slow our Country down is another long and damaging Government Shutdown," he wrote. 

The president said: "Hopefully, both Republicans and Democrats will give a very much needed Bipartisan 'YES' Vote."