Impasse over Capitol Police funding continues as officers face cash crunch

The House passed its own $1.9 billion package to plug security gaps at the end of May, but it has stalled out in the Senate amid Republican opposition.

“The Republicans aren’t going to vote for that big [House] package. And they’re not going to vote for [Leahy’s] either. If we agree on something smaller, you know how that works,” Shelby said. He said it was “possible” they’d come to an agreement before the recess. “We’ve got four weeks.”

In a shortfall first identified by Leahy last month, the Capitol Police could face furloughs next month due to increased costs associated with the Jan. 6 insurrection, unless Congress grants additional funding. The National Guard is also overburdened and might cut training.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell signaled Tuesday he wanted a narrower approach than the current Democratic proposals. Asked what he wanted addressed in a security package, the Kentucky Republican said both the Capitol Police shortfall and National Guard reimbursement “need to be dealt with” before recess.

Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), who leads a subpanel overseeing Capitol Police funding, said in a statement Republicans were obstructing the process.

“Some Congressional Republicans are so desperate to whitewash the Capitol insurrection that they are now holding up funds to pay Capitol Police officers and repay the National Guard, and underfunding needed security infrastructure upgrades to protect the Capitol complex,” he said.

Burgess Everett contributed to this report