Congress

Democrats Block Spending Package as Talks Over D.H.S. Funding Continue - With about 36 hours to go before a shutdown deadline, the funding legislation stalled while Senate Democrats sought a deal with President Trump to rein in his immigration crackdown.   Follow live updates

Bloomberg - Talks between top Senate Democrats and the Trump administration aimed at averting a government shutdown have moved closer to Democrats’ demands, a person familiar said. They’re insisting on new constraints on the president’s immigration crackdown. Shutdowns have become a recurring feature of US politics, here’s why. Meanwhile, the price of health care tops a long list of voters’ economic worries ahead of November’s midterms. And Donald Trump’s aides and allies are struggling to get him to stick to the script. The Senate is expected to vote today on a $1.6 trillion six-bill package to fund the government. But Democrats say they will block the funding package, which includes money for the Department of Homeland Security, until there are major reforms to how immigration agents operate in the U.S. Without a deal, a partial government shutdown begins at the end of the day tomorrow.

Democrats are pushing to pass the other five spending bills in the package, leaving out DHS while they negotiate terms, NPR’s Claudia Grisales tells Up First. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer says his party wants tighter cooperation with local law enforcement, a uniform code of conduct and use-of-force rules, and an end to roving patrols. Republican leaders oppose splitting the funding package, arguing that the House would never pass any part of it again. A partial shutdown would lead to other government agencies, such as Health and Human Services, losing funding this weekend.