US House Speaker says he has votes to end shutdown
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson said he believes Republicans will vote to end the partial government shutdown within a few days and that the chamber will debate Immigration and Customs Enforcement reforms for the next two weeks.
“I’m confident we’ll get this done at least by Tuesday. We’re facing a logistical challenge in getting everyone into the city,” he told NBC.
Transportation issues continue following a snowstorm that impacted travel in the southeastern United States.
The United States entered what was expected to be a brief shutdown on Saturday after Congress failed to approve a deal to fund a wide range of operations.
The Senate easily passed a spending package Friday, but the House of Representatives is out of town.
Republican and Democratic lawmakers are working to ensure that the debate over immigration enforcement does not disrupt other government operations.
This is a contrast from the northern hemisphere autumn, when both sides were exploring their positions in the dispute over healthcare, which led to a record 43-day shutdown and cost the US economy an estimated US$11 billion ($A16 billion).
The deal, approved by the Senate, would separate the Department of Homeland Security from the broader spending package.
That would allow lawmakers to approve funding for agencies like the Pentagon and the Labor Department, while new restrictions on federal immigration officials are being considered amid unrest following the shooting deaths of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis.
Johnson, with Republicans holding a slim majority in the House of Representatives, said “our intention” is to provide funding to all agencies other than DHS by Tuesday, “and then we will engage in good faith negotiations for two weeks to resolve this.”
The bill includes a two-week stopgap measure to fund DHS, but legislation on full-year DHS funding is on hold until an agreement is reached on changes to ICE practices.
Democrats are demanding reforms like requiring mandatory body cameras for ICE, ending roving patrols and the use of face masks.
“I don’t understand how Democrats can vote in good conscience to continue funding ICE while it’s killing American citizens,” Rep. Ro Khanna, a Democrat from California, told NBC.
Johnson said he believes US President Donald Trump’s administration will make changes to some DHS practices, but ICE agents wear masks to protect their identities and their families.
Australia’s Associated Press is the beating heart of Australian news. AAP is Australia’s only independent national news channel and has been providing accurate, reliable and fast-paced news content to the media industry, government and corporate sector for 85 years. We inform Australia.
