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President Donald Trump signed a roughly $1.2 trillion government funding bill Tuesday to end a partial federal shutdown that began over the weekend, according to the Associated Press. Trump signed the legislation after the House approved it 217-214, setting up another round of negotiations in Congress focused on the Department of Homeland Security.
The bill capped congressional work on 11 annual appropriations bills that fund agencies and programs through Sept. 30, AP reported. Trump moved quickly to sign the measure after the House vote, and he characterized the outcome in a statement to reporters and lawmakers. “This bill is a great victory for the American people,” Trump said, AP reported.
The end of the shutdown fight for most of the federal government also marked the start of a new one for DHS and its immigration enforcement components. Under the legislation, Congress funds DHS only for two weeks, through Feb. 13, AP said, citing Democrats’ demand for added restrictions on immigration enforcement after the shooting deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good by federal officers in Minneapolis.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries warned that Democrats would not support any further temporary funding for Homeland Security without substantial changes. Jeffries said Democrats “need dramatic change” to ensure ICE and other Homeland Security agencies “are conducting themselves like every other law enforcement organization in the country,” AP reported.
Speaker Mike Johnson said he expects the two sides will reach an agreement by the deadline. “This is no time to play games with that funding. We hope that they will operate in good faith over the next 10 days as we negotiate this,” Johnson said, adding that “The president, again, has reached out,” AP reported. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters he was less confident, saying, “There’s always miracles, right?”
The funding bill’s passage reflected a narrow path through Republican internal unity and Democratic support across party lines. AP reported that Republicans avoided the type of omnibus spending bill that is typically taken up earlier in the appropriations cycle, and Democrats added language they said would help ensure funds are spent as stipulated by Congress.
Johnson also faced the task of securing near-unanimous support from the Republican conference. AP said Republicans needed the roll call on Tuesday to remain open for nearly an hour as leaders won backing from a handful of GOP lawmakers working on unrelated priorities. In the final vote, AP reported, 21 Republicans backed the bill’s passage with the vast majority of Democrats voting for it, while 21 Republicans sided with nearly all Democrats in voting against it.
AP also described how the shutdown approaching its end differed from a fall impasse that lasted 43 days. That earlier fight involved extending temporary coronavirus pandemic-era subsidies for people using the Affordable Care Act’s health coverage system. AP said that, unlike that dispute, several appropriations measures passed before Tuesday had already funded key parts of government through Sept. 30, including nutrition assistance and fully operating national parks and historic sites.
Johnson pointed to the scale of what remained funded versus what was still at risk. “You might say that now that 96% of the government is funded, it’s just 4% what’s out there?” Johnson said. “But it’s a very important 4%,” AP reported.