The US is facing another shutdown. Budget negotiations at a “dead spot”

Talks between Democrats and Republicans on financing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have stalled, which means a shutdown, or paralysis, of the ministry is possible, American media reported on Friday.

Senators from both parties expect DHS funding to expire at the end of next week, on February 13, the Hill reported. The shutdown would cover not only Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), but also other agencies within the ministry, including: Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Democratic leaders in the Senate and House of Representatives, Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries, on Wednesday presented a list of 10 demands for changes in the operations of immigration services. Democrats want, among other things, that agents not cover their faces with masks during immigration operations, have ID badges, be prohibited from entering homes without court orders, and be obliged to wear cameras on their uniforms. The head of DHS, Kristi Noem, already agreed to wear cameras on Monday.

Senate Republican leader John Thune said Democrats' demands were “totally unrealistic.” – Their list of demands has increased from three to ten points. This just proves that they are not serious about it yet, he told reporters.

NBC News noted that Republicans also have their own demands regarding the so-called sanctuary cities, whose authorities refuse to cooperate with the federal government on immigration policy.

Republicans believe that closing the gap between Democratic demands and Republican red lines in such a short time seems unlikely, the Hill website emphasized.

On Thursday, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt stressed that some of the Democrats' demands the administration is willing to discuss, while others “appear to have no common sense basis and are unacceptable to this administration.”

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump signed a package of budget bills previously adopted by Congress, which ended the partial shutdown in the United States, i.e. the paralysis of government agencies, which has been ongoing since Saturday. The package provides a year-round budget for the Pentagon and the ministries of transportation, housing, health, education and labor. For DHS, funding was extended for two weeks.

This solution is intended to enable the parties to negotiate the introduction of changes in the operation of the ministry requested by Democrats in the wake of the shooting of Alex Pretti by federal officers in Minneapolis.

As NBC explains, even in the event of a shutdown, the ministry's activities, which the administration sees as necessary, will continue. TSA, FEMA and the Coast Guard will continue to operate, but officers will not be paid. In turn, ICE will not be affected by the shutdown at all, as it has guaranteed funding of USD 75 billion thanks to the “big, beautiful” budget bill passed by Congress in 2025.

From Washington Natalia Dziurdzińska (PAP)

Sun/Apr/