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Forecast shows chance of snow, shutdown

Political Theater, Episode 396

Senators returned to Washington after a massive winter storm, with just a few days to avert a partial government shutdown. Time is not on their side, nor is a solution for addressing concerns about Homeland Security operations.
Senators returned to Washington after a massive winter storm, with just a few days to avert a partial government shutdown. Time is not on their side, nor is a solution for addressing concerns about Homeland Security operations. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
By Jason Dick, Savannah Behrmann and Valerie Yurk
Posted January 29, 2026 at 12:22pm

It was supposed to be fairly straightforward. The Senate would return to Washington and pass the big spending package the House passed last week and the Capitol would shake off its all-too-familiar shutdown showdown drama.

Then federal immigration agents shot and killed Alex Pretti in the street in Minneapolis. Homeland Security Department money was in the package the Senate was considering. What path there was to an agreement was diverted to questions of basic American rights, whether citizens were safe from their government, whether to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, how much support was there for President Donald Trump and his immigration crackdown, and more.

Roll Call leadership reporters Savannah Behrmann and Valerie Yurk discuss what they are seeing at the Capitol as Congress attempts to navigate concerns that range from the protean to the profound, all while staring down another winter storm.

Show Notes:

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