Government Shutdown Ends with New Funding Deal
In Washington, the House of Representatives approved a $1.2 trillion funding package on Tuesday, effectively bringing an end to a four-day partial government shutdown. The bill has now been sent to President Trump for his signature.
The vote was close, with lawmakers passing the package 217-214. This compromise had previously received Senate approval late Friday and will ensure that around 97% of the government remains operational until September 30.
Looking ahead, Congress now has only ten days to negotiate a new funding deal for the Department of Homeland Security, set to expire on February 13. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) has labeled the timeline as “impossible.”
Thune expressed his concerns, stating, “We had a very short window to do this, which I opposed, but Democrats insisted on a two-week grace period. I don’t really get the rationale for that,” as he spoke to reporters prior to the vote.
Before the bill passed, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) spent about an hour convincing several Republican holdouts to get it over key procedural obstacles.
There was notable Republican pushback regarding the funding package, particularly because it did not include the Protection of American Voter Eligibility Act (SAVE), which mandates proof of citizenship for voting. While the House had already passed the SAVE Act, Senate Democrats blocked it through a 60-vote filibuster.
A number of House Republicans were urging Thune to either include the SAVE Act in the funding deal, push for a Senate vote that would likely fail and extend the partial shutdown, or find an alternative way to pass it.
On Monday, President Trump urged House Republicans to approve the funding package without alterations, emphasizing that he aimed to keep the shutdown brief.
The current funding issue, which began just past midnight on Saturday, has had a minor effect on federal government functions when compared to last fall’s record-breaking 43-day shutdown.
Just last month, the House passed six of the twelve spending bills required to keep government operations running for the rest of the fiscal year, while the remaining six had already been approved and signed into law by President Trump.
However, following the January 24 shooting of Alex Preti in Minneapolis, Senate Democrats pushed for immigration enforcement reforms at the last minute, which contributed to the development of the current $1.2 trillion funding agreement. This includes five spending bills alongside a two-week spending patch to keep the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) operational while negotiations continue under Democratic stipulations.
Interestingly, pausing the Homeland Security funding is unlikely to halt the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement initiatives, as funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) had already been secured through a separate legislative measure.
On Tuesday morning, Johnson emphasized the potential negative consequences of budget lapses, warning that this could lead to the suspension of FEMA operations, disruptions at TSA, and overall challenges in maintaining essential functions within DHS.
In the meantime, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) laid out an array of demands, which included implementing body cameras, banning masks, tightening warrant regulations, eliminating immigration patrols, and enforcing stricter accountability standards for law enforcement officers. Concurrently, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) called for a ban on the deportation of American citizens.
