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AXIOS (Stephen Neukam) - Inside Dems' 11th-hour push to force changes to ICE Mon Jan 26 20:35:24 2026

Most Senate Democrats seem prepared to shut down the federal government over funding for DHS. But internally, they're facing a debate over how hard a line to draw in negotiations with the White House. Why it matters: When Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) returns to Washington this week, he will have a growing bloc of Democrats demanding significant concessions from President Trump. - A group of around 10 Senate Democrats is coalescing around a list of demands for changes at DHS, including requiring warrants for arrests and mandating that federal agents identify themselves, multiple sources said. - The group also wants to demand that DHS cooperate with state and local investigations into incidents like the shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minnesota. - But some moderate Democrats might not be willing to go that far, a repeat of the dynamic that fractured Democrats in last year's government shutdown battle. And the clock is ticking, with government funding set to partially lapse at the end of the day Friday. The big picture: Senate Democrats left a nearly hour-and-a-half virtual meeting on Sunday evening mostly unified around the idea of rejecting government funding if it meant that funding for DHS was included, sources said. - On that call, Schumer said that Democrats would be able to pass all other remaining government funding bills, just not the current DHS package, the sources said. - Schumer said publicly Sunday that Democrats would not vote to advance a broader government funding package if the current bill funding DHS was included. Zoom in: It's been a quick pivot. Before the shooting in Minnesota this weekend, there was expected to be enough Democratic support in the Senate to avoid a government shutdown. - Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, criticized the idea of voting against the government funding package just last week. - But Saturday, Murray said she would not support the DHS funding bill she helped negotiate. What we're watching: Whether moderates like Murray support a push to ask the White House for broad changes to DHS will be a key dynamic to keep an eye on. Between the lines: The group of 10-or-so's demands are consistent with ideas that Sens. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Alex Padilla (D-Cal.) and others have floated publicly in recent weeks. - Some of these demands are part of a broader DHS reforms package that Murphy started crafting earlier this year, as we first reported. - Murphy and Padilla were part of a small group of senators who made calls to fellow Democrats over the weekend whipping against the DHS funding bill.

AI:Senate Democrats are considering blocking government funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to demand significant reforms within the agency. A growing bloc of approximately 10 senators is calling for measures such as requiring warrants for arrests, mandating that federal agents identify themselves, and ensuring DHS cooperation with local investigations into recent shootings involving ICE agents in Minnesota. While Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has signaled a willingness to block the DHS funding package specifically, internal debate remains among moderate Democrats regarding how much leverage to use ahead of Friday's potential government shutdown.