Trump Signs Bill to End Partial Government Shutdown

The president moved quickly to sign the bill after the House of Representatives approved it by a vote of 217 to 214.

“This bill is a great victory for the American people,” Trump said.

With Tuesday’s vote, congressional work on the 11-year appropriations bill, which will fund government agencies and programs through September 30, was completed.

The passage of the legislation marked the end of one funding struggle but the beginning of another. That’s because the package only funds the Department of Homeland Security for two weeks, through Feb. 13, at the behest of Democrats who have demanded more restrictions on immigration enforcement following the shooting deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good by federal officers in Minneapolis.

Leaders scramble for a fight Tough negotiations continue, especially for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, the agency that enforces the nation’s immigration laws.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries was quick to warn that Democrats would not support more temporary funding for Homeland Security without significant changes to immigration operations, raising the potential for another shutdown of the department and its agencies.

“We need dramatic change to make sure that ICE and other agencies within the Department of Homeland Security are acting like other law enforcement agencies across the country,” Jeffries said.

Spokesman Mike Johnson said he expects the two sides to reach an agreement by the deadline.

“This is not the time to play games with funding. We hope they will act in good faith as they negotiate this issue over the next 10 days,” Johnson said. “The President extended his hand again”

But Johnson’s counterpart in the Capitol, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.), seemed less optimistic about the deal. “Miracles always happen, right?” Thune told reporters.

Voting without margin of error The funding bill that cleared Congress on Tuesday included provisions that appealed to both parties.

Republicans eschewed a massive, sweeping funding bill known as an omnibus bill as part of this year’s appropriations process. They say such bills, often passed before the holiday season as lawmakers worry about returning home, contribute to increased federal spending.

Democrats have managed to stave off some of the most draconian cuts Trump has proposed while adding language that would help ensure the funds are spent as intended by Congress.

Still, Johnson needed near-unanimity from the Republican conference to move to a final vote on the bill. The leaders narrowly narrowly missed a roll call that was held open for nearly an hour as they tried to win support from a handful of GOP lawmakers trying to advance other priorities unrelated to the funding measure.

The final vote was not easy for GOP leaders. In the end, 21 Republicans sided with the majority of Democrats who voted against the funding bill, while the same number of Democrats sided with the majority of Republicans who voted yes.

In a social media post on Monday, Trump called on Republicans to unite and told naysayers, “There can be NO CHANGE right now.”

Key differences from the last shutdown The current partial shutdown, which is about to end, differed in many ways from the autumn stalemate that affected more institutions and lasted a record 43 days.

The discussion then turned to expanding temporary coronavirus pandemic-era subsidies for those who receive health insurance through the Affordable Care Act. Democrats failed to get those subsidies as part of a package to end the shutdown.

Congress has made significant progress since then. Some of the six appropriations bills he passed before Tuesday would make the current shutdown less painful. For example, important programs such as nutrition assistance and the full operation of national parks and historic sites had already been funded by September 30.

The remaining bills passed Tuesday mean the vast majority of the federal government is funded.

“Since the government is 96% funded, would you say there is only 4% left out there?” he said. “But this is a very significant 4 percent.”