Deal to avert government shutdown reached, hits roadblock

A bipartisan deal to keep the government open was reached, but it has reached a roadblock, leaving the plan in potential limbo.

Senate Democrats, according to The Associated Press, reached a rare agreement with President Donald Trump to break off the funding for the Department of Homeland Security from the rest of a spending bill that would have kept the government open.

The DHS would be funded for two weeks while Congress debated limitations for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Initially, Democrats had threatened to block the entire bill after two protesters were killed by ICE agents in Minneapolis.

But now Senate leaders are trying to gather support for the agreement to keep most of the government funded until September, the AP reported.

The Senate had planned to vote on the deal Thursday night.

However, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said there were “snags on both sides” while he and his Democratic counterpart, Sen. Chuck Schumer, worked through colleagues’ concerns, the AP reported.

One of the snags was that Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., wanted to protect a rule that allows senators to sue after having their phone records obtained without their knowledge. The rule, which protects only Senate members, not those in the House, would be reversed in the appropriations bill, The Washington Post reported.

The Senate can vote to bypass the chamber rules and do a quick vote for the appropriations bill, but it has to be a unanimous vote to suspend the rules, meaning one senator can prevent it.

The Senate still plans to vote on the agreement on Friday, before the midnight deadline, that the Post reported.

If the Senate does approve the spending plan, it will still need the House to pass it, but the lower chamber is on recess, the AP reported.

The administration is expected to issue guidance to federal agencies on how to deal with a potential shutdown.

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