Utah’s two U.S. senators split their votes on a controversial spending package Thursday that included additional funds for the Department of Homeland Security.
U.S. Sen. John Curtis voted in favor of the bill, while Sen. Mike Lee voted against it — but not because he doesn’t support funding for DHS and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“We need to ditch wasteful earmark spending,” Lee wrote on social media Thursday. “We need to fully fund ICE.”
The Senate voted 55-45, as eight Senate Republicans joined with every Democrat to block the funding package from receiving the 60 votes necessary to end debate and officially pass the bill through the chamber. The failure of the legislation could lead to a partial shutdown of the government this weekend.
Funding for DHS and ICE has become the subject of significant controversy following the killing of Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis last week, and Thursday’s vote on the funding bills comes as senators are discussing the possibility of decoupling DHS funding from the five other funding bills in order to avert a partial shutdown.
According to Politico, the Republican senators who voted against the package Thursday were not unified in their reasoning for voting against the package, as some reportedly hope to make changes to the DHS funding legislation, while others hope to force further spending cuts in other areas.
A spokesperson for Lee did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the senator’s no vote. He did, however, share a video from Sen. Rick Scott, R-Florida, talking about some of the funding requests from Democrats.
Lee has consistently taken a hardline stance in support of DHS and ICE, and has stayed close to the Trump administration messaging in the days following Pretti’s killing.
“Invoke the Insurrection Act. Send in the national guard,” he posted Monday afternoon. “ICE needs support, not opposition—and opposition is all they’ve gotten from Governor Walz and [Minneapolis] Mayor [Jacob] Frey.”
Curtis, meanwhile, joined with the majority of Senate Republicans on Thursday to vote in favor of the bill.
Earlier this week, Curtis said he supports an independent investigation into Pretti’s death and that DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s response to the shooting was “premature” and it “weakened confidence.”
A spokesperson for Curtis did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the senator’s vote.
As the debate over funding for DHS and ICE continues, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, laid out a series of reform demands for reforms that he said the party was united behind, including tightening rules on arrest warrants, ending roving patrols and enforcing a standard code of conduct, including carrying ID, wearing body cameras and removing masks.
An effort to ban law enforcement agents, including ICE, from wearing masks in Utah failed in the Legislature last week.
Should the government enter a partial shutdown this weekend, DHS, the Department of Defense, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Education, the Department of Transportation and the Department of Housing and Urban Development could be affected, as appropriations for those agencies have yet to be finalized.
As of Thursday afternoon, the totality of those impacts are unclear.
DHS and ICE enforcement efforts, however, are likely to continue, even if the government partially shuts down, as some funding for the agency has already been appropriated.