U.S. Sen. John Fetterman says he will not vote to shut down government over ICE funding

U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pennsylvania, said Monday he will not join a last-minute effort to slash funding for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

His remarks come after a second fatal shooting in Minneapolis by a federal immigration agent, which has accelerated discussions of a government shutdown.

A U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer killed 37-year-old nurse Alex Pretti on Saturday while he was observing an immigration enforcement action. Pretti’s death comes just weeks after a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent killed observer Renee Good, also 37 and a mother of three.

“Ms. Good and Mr. Pretti should still be alive,” Fetterman said Monday in a statement. “My family grieves for theirs. The operation in Minneapolis should stand down and immediately end. It has become an ungovernable and dangerous urban theatre for civilians and law enforcement that is incompatible with the American spirit.”

Following the killings, Senate Democrats have vowed to oppose funding to the agency that oversees CBP and ICE in Friday’s spending package — even if it means shutting down the government. Democrats are demanding sweeping reforms.

The minibus of appropriations needs 60 votes to survive. Fetterman said he wants “a conversation on the DHS appropriations bill” and supports “stripping it from the minibus.” But, he stopped short of joining his Democratic colleagues on their call to action.

“I’ve also spent significant time hearing many different positions on the funding bills and maintain that I will never vote to shut our government down, especially our Defense Department,” Fetterman said.

He also asserted shutting down the government would not defund ICE.

“I reject the calls to defund or abolish ICE,” Fetterman said. “I strongly disagree with many strategies and practices ICE deployed in Minneapolis, and believe that must change.”

Fetterman categorized himself as a “very pro-immigration Democrat” while also saying the United States should “deport all criminal immigrants.”

Before the senator released a statement, Gisele Barreto Fetterman, his wife, took to X to slam the nationwide immigration crackdown as “devastatingly cruel and unAmerican.”

U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pennsylvania, called for a “full investigation into the tragedy in Minneapolis.”

“We must enforce our laws in a way that protects the public while maintaining its trust,” McCormick said Sunday on X. “This gives our law enforcement officers the best chance to succeed in their difficult mission.”

A spokesperson for McCormick did not immediately respond to a request for comment about where McCormick stood on the upcoming vote.