Name: Senate Leaders Scramble to Save Bipartisan Deal and Avert Partial Government Shutdown at Midnight
Uploaded: 2026-01-30T21:55:24.000Z
Description: Passage of the agreement was delayed late Thursday as Senate leaders were still working to win enough support for the package.

Cary Dunst is the news anchor for NTD Evening News. He is also the co-host of NTD Good Morning.


Cary Dunst

NTD Plus

News

We present news that is truthful and based on facts, outside of the political fog. Instead of focusing on the negative things happening around us, our mission is to give our viewers a good morning with empathetic and uplifting stories. Our aim is to provide an antidote to negativity by shining a light on the best side of people. We speak to inspiring people who positively impact communities, pursue topics that represent our common human values, and will never miss an opportunity to bring you heartwarming stories.

NTD Good Morning

Trump Primarying Unaligned Republicans to Weed Them Out, Says GOP Strategist

CIA Director’s Rare Visit to Cuba ‘Sending a Signal’ That the US is Countering Cuban Intelligence Operations: Analyst

Stefania Cox is an NTD News anchor and national correspondent based at the network's global headquarters in New York City. Stefania anchors "NTD Newsroom," and co-anchors "NTD News Today" weekdays at 10:00 am ET.

Stefania Cox

China Took From the World, Invested in Capabilities to Threaten the World: Expert

NTD Newsroom comprises teams of reporters, editors, and producers assigned to cover breaking news and other stories.


NTD Newsroom

Hegseth Welcomes USS Gerald R. Ford Home to Virginia

Iraqi Man Charged for Plotting Terror Attacks in US, Europe​, and Canada

Melina Wisecup is NTD's congressional correspondent based in Washington, covering Capitol Hill and campaign politics.

Melina Wisecup

Trump Calls on Kentucky Voters to Oust Rep. Massie

Highlights of Rededicate 250: Affirming America as ‘One Nation Under God’

The Associated Press is an American not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. 

The Associated Press

US News

Teenagers Arrested in Random Shootings Across Austin That Left 4 Injured

Sean Marshall is a reporter based at NTD's global headquarters in New York City, primarily covering business and technology trends. 

Sean Marshall

Talks to End a Strike Shutting Down LIRR Will Resume Monday

Jack Phillips is a breaking news reporter with 15 years experience who started as a local New York City reporter. Having joined The Epoch Times' news team in 2009, Jack was born and raised near Modesto in California's Central Valley. 

Jack Phillips

Health News

US Issues Travel Advisories Over Ebola Outbreak in Congo

NTD Good Morning Full Broadcast (May 18)

Accommodating, Enabling China’s Regime a Failed Strategy: China Expert

NTD Good Morning Full Broadcast (May 15)

NTD Good Morning Full Broadcast (May 14)

Kevin Hogan is an NTD News data reporter and national correspondent based at the network's global headquarters in New York City. Kevin covers breaking news, as well as U.S. and global current events. He conveys the news through data visualizations and investigates pressing issues.

Kevin Hogan

NTD Good Morning Full Broadcast (May 13)

NTD Good Morning Full Broadcast (May 12)

President Trump Leaves for China Today; Calif. Mayor to Plead Guilty to Acting as CCP Agent | NTD Good Morning (May 12)

NTD Good Morning Full Broadcast (May 8)

NTD Good Morning Full Broadcast (May 7)

NTD Good Morning Full Broadcast (May 6)

Fast, compelling, first-hand news from China. China in Focus airs Monday–Friday at 8 p.m. ET.

China in Focus

China Sends Warships to Pacific Drill as Tensions With Japan Rise

Reuters is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages.

Reuters

2 US Embassy Personnel Assigned to Cartel Case Killed in Car Accident

Gunman Kills 8 Children, Including 7 of His Own, in Louisiana Mass Shooting

Flora Hua is a reporter based at NTD's global headquarters in New York City, where she covers China news, U.S.-China relations, and human rights issues. Flora primarily contributes to NTD's "China in Focus."  

Flora Hua

Trump: Seized Iranian Ship May Have ‘A Gift From China’

Joseph Lord is a congressional reporter for The Epoch Times.


Joseph Lord

Aldgra Fredly is a freelance writer covering U.S. and Asia Pacific news for The Epoch Times.

Aldgra Fredly

Former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani Hospitalized in Critical Condition: Spokesman

Wildfires Across Georgia and Florida Have Destroyed Nearly 50 Homes and Are Forcing Evacuations

News you can trust from the U.S. and around the world. Critical information and insight. We cover the stories that others don’t. NTD News Today airs Monday–Friday at 11 a.m. ET.

NTD News Today

US Warns of China Hacks via Routers, Smart Devices

Juliet Song is an international correspondent exclusively covering China news for NTD. She primarily contributes to NTD's "China in Focus," covering U.S.-China relations, the Chinese regime's human rights abuses, and domestic unrest inside China.

Juliet Song

2 Americans Among Suspected Communist Rebels Killed in Clashes With Troops, Philippine Officials Say

Ryan Morgan is a reporter for The Epoch Times focusing on military and foreign affairs. He was previously a news writer for NTD. 


Ryan Morgan

Mari Otsu is NTD's White House correspondent based in Washington. 

Mari Otsu

World News

Middle East

Iran

3 US Warships Fend Off Iranian Attacks, Trump Says Ceasefire Still Holds

US Government Sues Chick-fil-A Over Religious Rights

WASHINGTON—Senate leaders were scrambling to save a bipartisan spending deal and avert a partial government shutdown at midnight Friday as Democrats have demanded new restrictions on federal immigration raids across the country.

Democrats struck a rare deal with President Donald Trump Thursday to separate funding for the Homeland Security Department from a broad government spending bill and fund it for two weeks while Congress debates curbs on the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE). The deal came as irate Democrats had vowed to vote against the entire spending bill and trigger a shutdown in the wake of the deaths of two protesters at the hands of federal agents in Minneapolis.

“Republicans and Democrats have come together to get the vast majority of the government funded until September” while extending current funding for Homeland Security, Trump said in a social media post Thursday evening. He encouraged members of both parties to cast a “much needed Bipartisan ‘YES’ vote.”

Trump had said earlier in the day that “we don't want a shutdown.”

Still, passage of the agreement was delayed late Thursday as Senate leaders were still working to win enough support for the package.

Leaving the Capitol just before midnight Thursday after hours of negotiations, Senate Majority Leader John Thune said there were “snags on both sides” as he and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) tried to work through any objections that could delay passage past the Friday deadline.

“Hopefully people will be of the spirit to try and get this done tomorrow,” Thune said as the Senate was scheduled to reconvene on Friday.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said late Thursday that he was one of the senators objecting. He said ICE agents were being treated unfairly and he opposed House language repealing a new law that gives senators the ability to sue the government for millions of dollars if their personal or office data is accessed without their knowledge.
<h2>Rare Bipartisan Talks</h2>
The unusual bipartisan talks between Trump and Schumer came after the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Alex Pretti in Minnesota over the weekend and calls by senators in both parties for a full investigation. Schumer called it “a moment of truth.”

“What ICE is doing, outside the law, is state-sanctioned thuggery and it must stop,” Schumer said Thursday. “Congress has the authority—and the moral obligation—to act.”

The standoff has threatened to plunge the country into another shutdown, just two months after Democrats blocked a spending bill over expiring federal health care subsidies. That dispute closed the government for 43 days as Republicans refused to negotiate.

That shutdown ended when a small group of moderate Democrats broke away to strike a deal with Republicans, but Democrats are more unified this time after the fatal shootings of Pretti and Renee Good by federal agents.

Republicans were more willing to make a deal, as well, as several of them said they were open to new restrictions after the two fatal shootings.
<h2>Democrats Lay Out Demands</h2>
Democrats have laid out several demands, asking the White House to “end roving patrols” in cities and coordinate with local law enforcement on immigration arrests, including requiring tighter rules for warrants.

They also want an enforceable code of conduct so agents are held accountable when they violate rules. Schumer said agents should be required to have “masks off, body cameras on” and carry proper identification, as is common practice in most law enforcement agencies.

Earlier on Thursday, Tom Homan, the president’s border czar, stated during a press conference in Minneapolis that federal immigration officials are developing a plan to reduce the number of agents in Minnesota, but this would depend on cooperation from state authorities.
<h2>Still Far Apart on Policy</h2>
If the deal moves forward, negotiations down the road on a final agreement on the Homeland Security bill are likely to be difficult.

Democrats want Trump’s immigration crackdown to end. “If the Trump administration resists reforms, we shut down the agency,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.).

But Republicans are unlikely to agree to all of the Democrats' demands.

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said he is opposed to requiring immigration enforcement officers to show their faces.

“You know, there’s a lot of vicious people out there, and they’ll take a picture of your face, and the next thing you know, your children or your wife or your husband are being threatened at home,” Tillis said.

Graham said some of the Democratic proposals “make sense,” such as better training and body cameras. Still, he said he was putting his Senate colleagues “on notice” that if Democrats try to make changes to the funding bill, he would insist on new language preventing local governments from resisting the Trump administration’s immigration policies.

“I think the best legislative solution for our country would be to adopt some of these reforms to ICE and Border Patrol,” Graham posted on X. But he said that the bill should also end so-called “sanctuary city” policies.
<h2>Uncertainty in the House</h2>
Across the Capitol, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) told The Associated Press on Thursday that he had been “vehemently opposed” to breaking up the funding package, but “if it is broken up, we will have to move it as quickly as possible. We can’t have the government shut down.”

On Thursday evening, at a premiere of a movie about First Lady Melania Trump at the Kennedy Center, Johnson said he might have some “tough decisions” to make about when to bring the House back to Washington to approve the bills separated by the Senate, if they pass.

“We’ll see what they do,” Johnson said.

House Republicans have said they do not want any changes to the bill they passed last week. In a letter to Trump on Tuesday, the conservative House Freedom Caucus wrote that its members stand with the Republican president and ICE.

“The package will not come back through the House without funding for the Department of Homeland Security,” they wrote.

<em>By Mary Clare Jalonick, The Associated Press</em>

Latest

Videos

Politics

04_Top Stories

Latest Clips

Management

03_Featured

Congress

Latest and breaking news, documentaries, movies, and lifestyle content on NTD+.
 
Empower your knowledge and elevate your spirit with NTD+, your go-to destination for truthful news, insightful documentaries, and captivating lifestyle content that enriches your life.

Senate Leaders Scramble to Save Bipartisan Deal and Avert Partial Government Shutdown at Midnight

Lawrence Wilson covers politics for The Epoch Times.

Lawrence Wilson

Trump Unveils Addiction Recovery Plan Focused on Prevention, Support

Trump Sues IRS, Treasury Department for $10 Billion Over Alleged Tax Return Leaks

Haika Mrema

Trump Kennedy Center Hosts Premiere of Melania Trump’s Inauguration Documentary

Jill McLaughlin is an award-winning journalist covering politics, environment, and statewide issues. She has been a reporter and editor for newspapers in Oregon, Nevada, and New Mexico. Jill was born in Yosemite National Park and enjoys the majestic outdoors, traveling, golfing, and hiking.

Jill McLaughlin

Man Accused of Spraying Apple Cider Vinegar on Ilhan Omar Charged With Assault

Finalists Share the Inspiration Behind Their NTD Photo Competition Entries

Daniel Monaghan is a reporter for NTD News covering culture, social issues, and education. He holds a BA in Political Science and Government.