President Donald Trump has “brought down the temperature” on Minnesota, the site of major civil unrest over aggressive federal immigration efforts, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday.
Trump is “urging” Congress to take action to avoid triggering a partial government shutdown amid disputes over federal funding for the Department of Homeland Security, Bessent told CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street.”
The shutdown could begin at 12:01 a.m. ET on Saturday unless lawmakers come to a resolution on the DHS funding, which a slew of Democrats have rejected in light of the recent killing of nurse Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis.
Trump is “in constant contact” with lawmakers “and he is urging them not to shut down the government,” Bessent told CNBC.
Bessent spoke as the Trump administration tempers its tone after its harsh initial response to two immigration enforcement-related killings in Minneapolis that stirred waves of outrage from Democrats and even some Republicans.
The Cabinet secretary declined to make a prediction about whether a shutdown — the second in less than four months — will be averted.
“I don’t know what to expect. The Democrats can become unhinged like they were last time, and they don’t care. Like, they think this is a way to stop President Trump,” he said.
He also warned that another shutdown could cause further economic harm.
“Especially on the service side, when the government shut down, that never comes back. So, there’s a big permanent loss,” Bessent said.
The House of Representatives last week passed a more-than-$1.2 trillion spending package that includes funding for DHS, the agency in charge of federal immigration enforcement.
The package, which accounts for the bulk of government spending for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, requires Democratic support to clear the Senate’s 60-vote filibuster threshold. And if the Senate changes what the House already passed, the House would have to return from a prescheduled recess to vote on any amended measure, with little time to spare before a shutdown.
Democratic opposition to the spending package rapidly grew after Pretti’s killing on Saturday morning. Senate Democrats now say they will vote against the package unless the DHS portion is stripped out, something Republicans have signaled they will not do.
Pretti was killed just weeks after another U.S. citizen, Renee Nicole Good, was fatally shot by federal agents in Minneapolis.
In both cases, the Trump administration initially came out in full-throated defense of its officers’ actions while accusing the slain citizens of domestic terrorism.
After widespread blowback — and after new polls showed Trump’s immigration approval rating plummeting — the administration has dialed back its tone.
Trump said Tuesday, “we’re going to de-escalate a bit” in Minnesota.
But Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has suggested that that pivot is not enough for Democrats to drop the shutdown threat.
“The fix should come from Congress; the public can’t trust the administration to do the right thing on its own,” Schumer said Tuesday on the Senate floor.
“In the meantime, I will vote no on any legislation that funds [U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement] until it is reined in and overhauled, and Senate Democrats are overwhelmingly united on this issue,” Schumer said.
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