USA: Senate rejects spending package, shutdown looms

Washington (USA), 29 January (LaPresse) – Senate Democrats, with the support of some Republican colleagues, have rejected the spending package to finance the federal government. The measure must be approved by midnight on Saturday to avoid a government shutdown. This is a sign that the ongoing negotiations between the White House and the Democrats are still far from being finalised. Eight Republican senators joined all the Democratic senators to block the approval of the funding bill by a vote of 55 to 45. The bill would have funded, among other things, the Departments of Homeland Security, Foreign Affairs and Health, as well as the Pentagon. The Senate seemed set to approve them without any particular problems, but then the killing last weekend in Minneapolis of Alex Pretti by a federal immigration agent fuelled new criticism from Democrats and even some Republicans. Democrats now say they will oppose the passage of the funding bill as long as it includes funding for the Department of Homeland Security or until Republicans agree to a bill introducing a new code of conduct for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).