***WATCH: Senator Murray’s Remarks***
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, spoke on the Senate floor about the killing of Alex Pretti and the violence we are seeing from ICE and CBP agents in Minneapolis and all across the country—and the urgent need to rein in these rogue agencies.
Senator Murray emphasized that Democrats are ready to avert a Republican shutdown by passing the five other appropriations bills with overwhelming bipartisan support, while splitting off the Homeland Security funding bill to allow time for serious negotiations to secure reforms at the Department. The fiscal year 2026 Defense; Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies; Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies; Financial Services and General Government; and National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs appropriations bills were negotiated on a bipartisan, bicameral basis, overwhelmingly passed the House in 341-88 and 341-79 votes, and could easily clear the Senate this week if Republican leadership tees up a vote on the bills. Collectively, these five bills account for 95% of the remaining budget for fiscal year 2026.
Senator Murray’s remarks, as delivered, are below:
“There are two simple truths here:
“One—there is absolutely no reason for a shutdown. 5 of the bills before us—covering 95 percent of the remaining budget—everyone agrees we can pass.
“And two—after the horrific killing of Alex Pretti last weekend, after so many vile, shameless lies from Trump officials, and after the flagrant abuses we have seen from ICE and CBP agents, it is painfully—and brutally—clear this out-of-control Department must be reined in, and Congress must take action to make that happen.
“What we have seen happening in Minnesota—and all across the country—is simply un-American.
“Trump and Noem sent ICE and Border Patrol into Minneapolis—not on a targeted mission to retrieve actual criminals—but to go door to door, terrorizing communities, and asking to see the papers of anyone who doesn’t fit their idea of what an American looks like.
“Secretary Noem and her masked agents are haphazardly dragging off people with no criminal record, people who are here legally, people who are citizens, and of course, they are even dragging off children.
“No one has to take my word for it. We all saw them march a man, a citizen, out of his house, in the freezing cold—in nothing but his underwear. We all saw them cart away a five-year-old, with his Spiderman backpack and a bunny hat on.
“And when people protested peacefully—the Trump administration cracked down with a level of force as brutal as it was unjustified.
“Again—no one needs to take my word for it: We all heard about the family who had their car tear gassed on the way back from a basketball game, and their baby stopped breathing and needed emergency care. We all watched the woman who was dragged out of her car on the way to a doctor’s appointment. We all saw that unforgettable photo of an unarmed man, pinned on the ground with one of Trump’s federal officers pepper spraying him directly in the face.
“We all bore witness to the murder of Renee Good.
“And then, last weekend—we all saw the horrific killing of Alex Pretti. A lawful observer exercising his rights, murdered in cold blood by federal agents.
“And how did Trump’s team respond? They lied about what we all saw with our own eyes.
“They slandered Alex as a domestic terrorist. This man was a VA nurse, he was beloved by his patients. They falsely claimed he wanted to massacre law enforcement, when he was simply exercising his constitutional First Amendment rights. They said he attacked law enforcement, when he was only helping a woman who law enforcement had assaulted. They said he brandished a gun, when he never touched it. In fact—he was already disarmed when they shot him in the back.
“And yet—right now, the only Department they will let investigate this tragedy—is the Department that was responsible for it.
“That cannot be how things work in this country—not if we are going to keep the democracy that we all cherish. We need real, independent investigation. We need real accountability. And we need real reforms.
“And until that happens—until we begin reining in this out-of-control Department—we cannot pass the DHS bill as it stands. The DHS bill needs to be split off from this larger package. And that needs to happen so we can prevent other parts of government from shutting down while we work to reform the DHS bill.
“Now, I want to be straight with everyone: not passing the Homeland Bill will not stop ICE right now. Why? Because Republicans already gave ICE tens of billions of dollars without a single Democratic vote when they passed their Big Ugly Bill. As the junior Senator from Kentucky has pointed out—even without the DHS bill, ICE will have many times its annual budget because of the bill that the Republicans passed last summer.
“But splitting off the Homeland bill does ensure Congress is forced to reckon with this issue. It does give us the opportunity to take much-needed action to protect Americans from this out-of-control Department.
“And to be clear: this is not just what Democrats are demanding. It is what the vast majority of Americans are demanding. People in this country, Mr. President, are absolutely horrified, they are outraged that our government is gunning down U.S. citizens on the street with impunity. And this just cannot continue.
“And with each hour that goes by, we are seeing more and more Republicans agree that the status quo is unacceptable—that there must be change, and that Congress must do something. We—Congress—must do something.
“And there’s a very reasonable and straightforward path forward here now: There is a legislative package of 6 funding bills at the desk right now, right up here. 5 of the funding bills in this package that we all overwhelmingly agree on. We all agree on [funding] cancer research. We all agree on child care funding. We all agree on funding roads, and bridges, and housing. We agree on paying our troops, and supporting small businesses, and so much else that is in those bills. And by the way the House in fact passed those five bills overwhelmingly.
“So let’s just remove Homeland Security and pass the remaining five bills without delay! There is no reason to wait. And we can get to work right away to negotiate a Homeland bill that includes the reforms and accountability everyone knows is needed.
“I am here, and ready to roll up my sleeves and get to work with Chair Collins and our colleagues to craft a bill with serious oversight and accountability so we can simply rein in the abuses we are seeing.
“But if Republicans refuse to work with us on DHS, and refuse to put the remaining five bills up for a vote in the meantime, they will be choosing to shut down the government across all of the agencies impacted—cutting off funding for lifesaving clinical trials, and paychecks for our troops and our air traffic controllers, and as we all know much more.
“We should not let that happen. So, Mr. President, let’s pass the 5 bills ahead of the Friday deadline, and let’s focus separately on DHS—where it is clear, that accountability and reform cannot wait.
“We do this all the time—move forward on the areas where we have an agreement—and keep negotiating on the others. That’s what needs to happen here and now.
“And look, if the House has to come back to prevent a shutdown—so be it! That is part of the job they have.
“Back in 2018, after the Senate cleared a spending bill and we went home for the holidays, President Trump did a 180 and had the House change the bill and send it back to us. You know what we did? We came back and we voted. That’s it. That’s our job. That’s what the House can do.
“So, there is no need for a shutdown. There is no need for delay. And there is every need for serious reforms. Let’s get it done.”
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