Jet fumes are hitting the Senate, which will only have a week when senators get back from recess on Jan. 26 to avoid a (partial) government shutdown.
Why it matters: Congress is making real headway on spending bills. But Democrats are demanding ICE reforms in the Department of Homeland Security funding bill, and a bipartisan deal may not be possible by month's end.
- A "budget without any constraints on DHS isn't likely to get a lot of Democratic votes," Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said Thursday.
- At least six or seven Dems will have to cross the aisle to avoid a shutdown.
- Both Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) have dismissed the idea of another shutdown after last fall's record-breaker.
Zoom in: Congress cleared the halfway point on appropriations bills Thursday after funding Commerce, Justice, Energy and the Interior, as well as NASA and the EPA.
- Funding agencies is Congress' most basic job, and GOP leaders have been adamant about passing more regular appropriations bills.
- Thune and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) both said a spending stopgap is the likely endgame to avoid a DHS shutdown, Semafor reports.
The bottom line: Murphy told reporters that a stopgap "doesn't fix any of the problems either," suggesting Dems wouldn't support an extension of current DHS funding levels.
- But Schumer has been clear he thinks a shutdown is off the table, and a lapse in DHS funding would technically be a partial government shutdown.
