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News and updates

Trump signs $1.2 trillion funding bill

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Following the quick turnaround leaders hoped for, the House passed a spending package on Tuesday afternoon to fund most of the federal government for the rest of the fiscal year. Just hours after the House approved the bill, President Trump signed the package into law, officially ending the partial government shutdown. More details on the package can be found here.

The final vote was 217 to 214, with most House Democrats (193) voting against the bill, while 21 Republicans also opposed the measure. Speaker Mike Johnson was optimistic that the bill would pass quickly, but it faced hurdles as President Trump and Republicans pressured conservative holdouts to vote in favor.

While the package fully funds the majority of federal agencies through September, it funds DHS only through the end of next week, setting the stage for difficult negotiations over immigration restrictions. Lawmakers have ten days to reach a broader deal or another short-term agreement to avoid a funding lapse. The funding debate has been focused on ICE and Customs and Border Protection, but DHS includes other major agencies like TSA, FEMA, and the Coast Guard.

Partial shutdown begins

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Less than three months after a record-breaking 43-day shutdown, the government is once again facing a funding lapse. However, the partial shutdown that started Saturday has key differences from the fall shutdown, and leaders are optimistic it will be resolved quickly.

In the final hours before the deadline on Friday, the Senate voted to fund most of the government through the end of the fiscal year and give Homeland Security a two-week funding extension to give time to debate new restrictions on federal immigration raids.

The five-bill funding package passed the Senate in a 71-29 vote, but it must now pass the House again before becoming law. The House returned today and Speaker Mike Johnson plans to hold a vote as soon as possible. The $1.2 trillion package could face additional challenges from both sides of the aisle. Many House Republicans have already said they will oppose any Senate changes to what the House already passed, while many House Democrats are opposed to stopgap funding for DHS without immediate new restrictions. If the deal gets signed into law, Congress will have approved over 95% of federal funding, leaving only the full-year DHS bill left to debate.

Congress has already funded a number of services which otherwise would have a significant public impact during shutdowns, including SNAP and WIC programs, national parks, departments of Energy, Commerce, Justice, Agriculture, Interior and Veteran’s Affairs, the EPA, congressional operations, the FDA, and federal science programs.

The funding lapse affects the Pentagon and agencies including the Transportation Department and DHS, labor, housing, education and health programs, the IRS, State Department, and Treasury Department.

Senate leaders scramble to save bipartisan deal to avert shutdown

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In a surprising turn, Senate Democrats were able to strike a deal with President Donald Trump Thursday night to separate DHS funding from the broader appropriations package and fund it for two weeks while Congress debates ICE guardrails.

“Republicans and Democrats have come together to get the vast majority of the government funded until September,” Trump said in a social media post Thursday evening, encouraging members of both parties to cast a “much needed Bipartisan ‘YES’ vote.”

However, late Thursday, this plan ran into further snags. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina is one of the main objectors, opposing language which repealed a provision allowing senators to sue if their phone records were collected. This contentious “Arctic Frost” provision passed as part of the bill ending the government shutdown last year and was ultimately struck out of the final House bill.

The Senate reconvened this morning to try again to pass the funding measures. If it passes, it will then need to go back to the House, meaning at least a short funding lapse.

On the House side, Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters he had been “vehemently opposed” to breaking up the funding package, but “if it is broken up, we will have to move it as quickly as possible. We can’t have the government shut down.” He said he doesn’t expect any floor votes on the funding bill until Monday.

House Republicans have already made it clear they do not want changes to the bill they passed. Members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus wrote they stand with ICE in a letter to President Trump on Tuesday.

Shutdown Updates

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Negotiations continue to intensify between the White House and Senate Democrats as they attempt to reach a last-minute agreement over how to advance the remaining appropriations bills.

During a 45-55 test vote this morning, Democrats voted to block the package, as they continue to push for an agreement to separate Homeland Security from the rest of the legislation, allowing them to approve the five other bills which would fund the majority of the federal government for the rest of the fiscal year. A handful of Republicans also opposed the package, citing various spending objections.

The list of demands from Senate Democrats include ending roving patrols, requiring body cameras, preventing agents from wearing masks, and requiring them to work more closely with local law enforcement.

A partial government shutdown beginning at midnight on Friday is now almost certain.

Partial government shutdown looms

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The likelihood of a partial government shutdown has increased, as Senate Democrats face pressure to block Department of Homeland Security funding following the fatal shootings of U.S. citizens Alex Pretti and Renee Good by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis this month. Congress has until January 30 to pass a spending resolution, to avoid shutting down large portions of the government.  

On January 22, the House sent the $1.2 trillion appropriations package to the Senate, which included roughly $10 billion for ICE (full details are in the previous blog post). The DHS funding bill received a separate vote in the House, narrowly passing by a vote of 220-207. Only seven Democrats voted in favor, as public pressure mounts to rein in ICE following large-scale protests in Minnesota.  

The package seemed poised to pass the Senate with at least 60 votes, but following the shooting of Alex Pretti on January 24, Senate Democrats have vowed they will not fund DHS without new guardrails.  

Weather-related disruptions from the winter storm have complicated matters; the Senate vote scheduled for January 26 has been rescheduled until at least January 27. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer hopes to separate the DHS bill from the rest of the measures, which have overwhelming bipartisan support. However, even if Senate Democrats can convince Republicans to separate it, the legislation would need approval again in the House, which is on recess until February 2. All this points towards a likely shutdown beginning Friday. 

Unlike the last government shutdown, many government operations would remain operational. Congress has already passed six out of the 12 full-year appropriations bills, which have been signed into law by President Trump. This includes funding for the Departments of Justice, Commerce, Agriculture, Interior, Veterans Affairs, and the Legislative Branch.  

More details to come.