By Ginika Igboke
The federal government entered a partial shutdown just after midnight Saturday, even though the Senate approved legislation hours earlier intended to prevent the lapse in funding.
The shutdown affects several major departments, including Defense, Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Homeland Security. It is expected to be short-lived, with the House scheduled to vote Monday evening to reopen the government.
Because the House vote is not set until 6:30 p.m. local time, nonessential federal employees in the affected departments are expected to be furloughed for the day. Federal law requires agencies to initiate shutdown procedures once funding has officially expired, regardless of expectations that a funding deal will soon pass.
The Senate approved the revised funding package Friday evening by a 71–29 vote after hours of intense bipartisan negotiations on Capitol Hill.
Under the legislation, most agencies included in the package would receive full-year funding through the end of the fiscal year. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) would instead receive a two-week funding extension, giving lawmakers additional time to negotiate changes to a full-year funding bill for the agency.
The vote came less than a day after Democrats and the White House announced the agreement. In the wake of the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti in Minnesota, Senate Democrats said they would not support long-term DHS funding without changes to certain immigration enforcement practices.
President Donald Trump urged Congress to approve the bipartisan compromise.
“Republicans and Democrats in Congress have come together to get the vast majority of the Government funded until September, while at the same time providing an extension to the Department of Homeland Security, including the very important Coast Guard,” Trump wrote in a Jan. 29 social media post. “Hopefully, both Republicans and Democrats will give a very much needed bipartisan ‘yes’ vote.”
Senate Democrats, led by Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), outlined three demands on Jan. 28 related to DHS and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations. Schumer said the first would end what he described as “roving patrols” by ICE in U.S. cities, tighten warrant requirements, and require closer coordination with state and local law enforcement.
The second demand calls for greater accountability for ICE agents. Schumer said federal agents should be subject to the same use-of-force standards as state and local police and face consequences when those standards are violated.
The third proposal would require ICE and other immigration agents to operate without masks, wear body cameras, and carry state-issued identification at all times.
With DHS funding extended for only two weeks, lawmakers are expected to continue negotiating the details of a full-year funding package for the agency in the coming days.
Some Republicans who are open to limited reforms have nevertheless expressed concern about tying those demands to the risk of a shutdown.
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), a critic of the administration’s immigration enforcement approach, said he opposed shutting down the government over the issue, warning that a lapse in DHS funding could disrupt agencies such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Tillis argued that separating DHS funding from the broader package could hinder disaster response efforts and said he did not support that approach.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) rejected Democratic calls for immigration agents to stop wearing masks during operations, describing the proposal as an extension of what he characterized as anti-law-enforcement advocacy.
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