A US government shutdown looked inevitable Thursday after Senate Democrats blocked a key vote to keep departments funded, escalating a standoff with the White House over President Donald Trump’s hardline immigration crackdown following the fatal shooting of two protesters.The failed vote stalled a six-bill spending package that would fund more than three-quarters of the federal government, and a partial shutdown is set to begin after midnight Saturday.Senators were expected to hold a second vote on a revised package, but even a successful outcome would still require approval by the House of Representatives, which is not due back from recess until Monday — more than two days after the Friday night deadline.Under congressional rules, identical bill texts must pass both the House and Senate before they can become law.It will be the second government stoppage since Trump took office a year ago, although hopes were high that it could be limited to the weekend, unlike last summer’s record-breaking 43-day closure.Democrats had been clear that they intended to block the six-bill package unless funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is separated out and renegotiated to impose new guardrails on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the most heavily funded federal law-enforcement agency.”What ICE is doing is state-sanctioned thuggery and it must stop. And Congress has the authority — and the moral obligation — to act,” Senate Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said.Schumer later announced that the White House had agreed to a temporary framework addressing Democrats’ demands on the DHS bill, though US media reported that a vote on the deal had been delayed until Friday.Trump urged lawmakers from both parties to back the agreement, calling for a “very much needed Bipartisan ‘YES’ Vote” in a social media post endorsing the proposal.A prolonged shutdown would likely place hundreds of thousands of federal employees on leave or force them to work without pay, with economic disruption spreading well beyond Washington.The confrontation has been fueled by outrage over immigration enforcement, a dispute carrying especially high political stakes in a midterm election year in which the entire House and roughly a third of the Senate are up for reelection.- Aggressive immigration crackdown -The immediate flashpoint came Saturday in Minneapolis, where Alex Pretti, an intensive care unit nurse monitoring and recording Trump’s deportation operation, was shot dead by federal border agents. The killing came just weeks after another activist, Renee Good, was fatally shot by immigration officers a few blocks away.The deaths shattered what had appeared to be a fragile bipartisan funding truce, refocusing congressional debate on the conduct of immigration agents operating under Trump’s crackdown.Democrats say they are prepared to pass the remaining five spending bills immediately — covering various departments including defense, health, education, transportation and financial services.But they are asking for a rewrite of the DHS bill to mandate an end to roving ICE patrols, tighter warrant requirements, a universal use-of-force code, a ban on officers wearing masks, mandatory body cameras and visible identification.None of those requirements are addressed in the White House agreement, which instead gives lawmakers two weeks to rewrite the Homeland Security funding bill before the department faces its own shutdown.Lawmakers from both parties have warned that a lapse in DHS funding could have serious consequences for agencies such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency as severe winter weather grips huge swaths of the country.

Donald Trump’s “border czar” said Thursday that some federal agents could be withdrawn from Minneapolis, the northern US city that has become the flashpoint for the president’s immigration crackdown.The Trump administration, facing a public backlash over the shooting deaths of two Americans by federal agents in Minneapolis, also eased immigration operations in the northeastern state of Maine.Tom Homan vowed at a press conference in Minneapolis to press on with the immigration crackdown in the city, but said more cooperation could lead to a reduction in the number of federal agents there.”We are not surrendering our mission at all. We’re just doing it smarter,” Homan said. “President Trump wants this fixed. And I’m going to fix it.”Minneapolis has been gripped by weeks of demonstrations against the roundup of immigrants by masked and heavily armed federal agents.Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, speaking to a conference of US mayors in Washington on Thursday, likened it to an “invasion.””People’s constitutional rights have been trampled,” he said. “Discrimination takes place only on the basis of ‘Are you Somali?’ ‘Are you Latino?’ or ‘Are you Southeast Asian?'””It’s not how we operate in America.”Trump held a cabinet meeting Thursday, but the Minnesota unrest did not come up while reporters were in the room, and he did not call on Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem when asking some officials to give remarks.Trump sent Homan to Minnesota to take control of immigration operations there with orders to report directly to him, effectively sidelining Noem.Homan’s appointment showed the administration was “pivoting,” Cass, a 43-year-old freelance medical professional in Minneapolis who did not wish to provide a surname, told AFP.”Just because one’s older and bigger doesn’t mean that it’s not as scary. It’s just now we’ve got somebody with better self-regulation.”The political battle has landed in Congress, with a potential government funding shutdown looming after Senate Democrats rejected a procedural vote to express anger over the killing of the two protesters in Minnesota.Democrats had vowed to block the measure unless funding for the Department of Homeland Security is renegotiated to include guardrails on ICE.- ‘Improvements’ needed -Homan struck a conciliatory tone at his first press conference, saying “certain improvements could and should be made,” a marked difference from the Border Patrol commander who previously headed the mission and has been removed.The border chief urged Minnesotans to avoid “hateful rhetoric” against federal immigration officers.Homan said his staff was “working on a drawdown plan” for some of the more than 3,000 federal agents who have been taking part in “Operation Metro Surge.”One such measure, for example, would be notifying ICE agents about the release dates of incarcerated migrants considered “criminal public safety risks” so they can be detained by the agency, he said.”This is commonsense cooperation that allows us to draw down on the number of people we have here.”Steven Gagner, a 41-year-old jewelry designer and “citizen observer” in Minneapolis, was skeptical about the drawdown.”This administration has proven time and time again that they just lie to us and they do not really hold themselves or anyone else accountable,” he told AFP.- Conduct warning -The two agents involved in Saturday’s shooting have been placed on leave, and Homan said any federal agents who breach standards of conduct “will be dealt with.”Trump has scrambled to stem outrage over the killings of Good and Pretti, saying earlier this week that he wanted to “de-escalate a little bit” in Minneapolis.But the Republican president has not let up on his attacks on Somali-born Minnesota congresswoman Ilhan Omar, even going so far as to suggest she may have staged an attack on Tuesday, when a man sprayed her with a liquid while she gave a speech.The man, Anthony Kazmierczak, faces state and federal assault charges for using a syringe to spray what appeared to be apple cider vinegar on the Democratic representative.

President Donald Trump on Thursday said all Canadian-built aircraft would lose their US certification until Canada approves American-made Gulfstream business jets, a stunning move threatening major travel disruptions if enacted.Writing on his Truth Social network, Trump charged that “Canada has wrongfully, illegally, and steadfastly refused” to grant certification to Gulfstream’s newest models — the 500, 600, 700, and 800.”We are hereby decertifying their Bombardier Global Expresses, and all Aircraft made in Canada, until such time as Gulfstream, a Great American Company, is fully certified, as it should have been many years ago,” Trump wrote.He additionally threatened a 50 percent tariff on all Canadian aircraft sold to the United States.It was not immediately clear through what process Trump could unilaterally decertify aircraft or what that decertification would entail.The US Department of Transportation (DOT) and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) referred questions to the White House, which did not immediately respond to AFP’s requests for comment.- ‘Significant impact’ -Quebec-based Bombardier said in a statement that it had “taken note of the post” and was “in contact with the Canadian government.””Thousands of private and civilian jets built in Canada fly in the US every day. We hope this is quickly resolved to avoid a significant impact to air traffic and the flying public,” the company added.While the Global Express is a business jet, Trump’s threat to decertify “all” Canadian aircraft would also appear to include CRJ regional jets and Airbus A220s — used by several major US airlines for shorter range flights.The move is the latest in a string of verbal and commercial attacks on the United States’ northern neighbor since Trump’s return to power last year.Earlier in the week, Trump threatened Canada with 100-percent tariffs after Prime Minister Mark Carney traveled to China and struck several economic deals.Carney downplayed the threat, saying the comments should be viewed with an eye toward an upcoming review of the US-Mexico-Canada trade deal.Canada has been hit hard by Trump’s sectoral tariffs — especially in the auto, steel and aluminum sectors — but more than 85 percent of bilateral US-Canada trade has remained tariff-free through the ongoing trade war.Carney has enjoyed better ties with Trump, compared to his predecessor Justin Trudeau, whom Trump often referred to as a “governor” of what he declared should be the 51st US state, but their relationship has soured in recent days.The Canadian premier delivered a blistering denunciation of US global leadership at last week’s World Economic Forum in Davos, earning a rare standing ovation and capturing global headlines.Trump shot back in his own Davos address, telling Carney to watch his words, as “Canada lives because of the United States” and later referring to Carney as a “governor” in a social media post.