White House steps up funding talks with Senate Democrats as shutdown grows near

No agreement has been reached between Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and the White House, according to a source familiar with the negotiations, but the development signals President Donald Trump’s interest in averting an extended lapse in funding at midnight on Friday.

The White House has taken a series of steps to de-escalate nationwide tensions over its immigration raids after the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti on Saturday, but Democrats have used the funding cliff to demand concessions that would rein in Immigration and Customs Enforcement conduct.

Republican leaders initially urged Democrats to work out a deal through executive action, thereby allowing the Senate to keep a House-passed spending bill intact. But the openness to separating the DHS funding, reported overnight by CNN and