Democratic Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy said during a Sunday morning CNN appearance that his party’s caucus cannot support a government shutdown-averting bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which he claimed was “murdering American citizens.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, in a Saturday statement, vowed his party’s caucus “will not provide the votes” necessary to pass a spending package which includes a DHS funding bill. The declaration came hours after Border Patrol agents fatally shot Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. Murphy appeared to agree with Schumer, saying on “State of the Union with Jake Tapper and Dana Bash” that “Democrats are not going to vote” for the package — that if not passed by its Jan. 30 deadline would launch the country into a partial government shutdown.”