Trump signs legislation to end government shutdown. Recap
A government funding package that was delayed over immigration enforcement concerns has passed the House and Senate. President Trump signed it, ending the shutdown.
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump signed legislation passed by the House of Representatives on Tuesday to end the partial government shutdown, bringing a relatively swift resolution to a brief funding lapse caused by widespread concern with federal immigration enforcement since Alex Pretti's killing.
“We’ve succeeded in passing a fiscally responsible package that actually cuts wasteful federal spending while supporting critical programs for the safety, security and prosperity of the American people,” Trump said during an Oval Office ceremony as Republican members of Congress stood behind him.
Most Republicans and 21 Democrats supported the funding package, which made it through the House on a 217-214 vote. It passed the Senate unanimously last week.
The race is now on for lawmakers to reach a deal in just over a week about reforms to the Department of Homeland Security, which includes ICE and Border Patrol. That agency's funding now runs out next Friday, Feb. 13.
The small extension was meant to buy time for Democratic lawmakers to negotiate with the GOP and White House over changes to DHS in the wake of the fatal shootings of Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis last month.
Whether that agreement will rapidly come to fruition on such a tight timeline is looking increasingly difficult – especially amid disunity among House and Senate Democrats.
"The Democrats are in a family squabble," Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters Tuesday.
Trump signs funding bill ending government shutdown
President Trump signed legislation Tuesday reopening the government and ending the brief shutdown during an Oval Office ceremony shortly after the House passed the funding package.
“We’ve succeeded in passing a fiscally responsible package that actually cuts wasteful federal spending while supporting critical programs for the safety, security and prosperity of the American people,” Trump said as Republican members of Congress stood behind him.
House Speaker Mike Johnson called passage of the legislation “a big deal,” touting health care measures it funds. The speaker picked up a red hat sitting on Trump's Resolute Desk with the words, “America is back.”
“America is back,” Johnson said. “The hat is appropriate.”
– Joey Garrison
Trump to sign bill ending shutdown Tuesday afternoon
President Donald Trump will sign the funding bill to end the shutdown and reopen the government in the Oval Office at 4:30 pm ET on Tuesday afternoon.
The White House released an update to the president’s daily schedule after the House voted 217-214 to approve a legislative package ending the shutdown, with 21 Democrats joining all but 21 Republican to vote for it.
– Joey Garrison
21 Democrats back government funding bill, 21 Republicans oppose
Most Republicans in the House supported a deal worked out between President Donald Trump and Senate Democrats to fund the government, while most Democrats opposed the measure that passed 217-214.
But there were a notable number of lawmakers on both sides who didn’t go along with the majority in their party, as 21 Democrats backed the legislation and 21 Republicans opposed it.
The compromise measure breaks out funding for the Department of Homeland security and only extends spending at the agency for two weeks while lawmakers discuss ICE reforms. While many Democrats opposed the compromise as the left pushes for an aggressive stance against ICE, the party isn’t united on the issue.
Among those backing the deal: Democratic Rep. Jared Golden of Maine, a retiring lawmaker who represents a battleground district and is known for a more centrist approach. Meanwhile, some hardline Republicans opposed the compromise despite Trump advocating for it. Some conservatives are leery of reforming ICE and giving Democrats leverage over the agency’s funding.
– Zac Anderson
Massie only GOP “no” vote to advance funding package
Johnson could only spare one Republican defection in advancing the government spending package to end the four-day partial government shutdown. That's exactly what happened, but not without some drama first.
Republicans Thomas Massie, R-Kentucky, and John Rose, R-Tennessee, initially voted against advancing the legislation. Four GOP lawmakers initially abstained during the voting. Had they not changed their minds, the vote would have failed 212-216 after every Democrat voted against the measure. Instead, Republican leaders kept the vote open and worked to convince the holdouts.
The four lawmakers who initially abstained – Byron Donalds, R-Florida, Andy Ogles, R-Tennessee, Victoria Spartz, R-Indiana and Troy Nehls, R-Texas – eventually voted to advance the bill and Rose flipped his vote, leaving Massie the only no vote. The measure advanced 217-215.
The vote on a procedural question set the legislation up for a final House vote.
– Zac Anderson
Johnson scrambles amid GOP holdouts
Johnson huddled with several Republican holdouts on the House floor on Tuesday afternoon as a high-stakes procedural vote to end the shutdown seemed to be on thin ice.
The drama underscored just how thin Republicans' majority is in the House, making virtually any piece of legislation a chance for lawmakers to flex their political leverage.
– Zach Schermele
Johnson looks ahead to debate over ICE reforms
Ahead of a vote on government funding legislation, Speaker Johnson laid out the fight ahead over immigration issues that will quickly consume lawmakers if the House passes the spending bill.
The funding measure only extends Department of Homeland Security spending for another week while lawmakers debate immigration enforcement issues. Trump has been negotiating with Senate Democrats on ICE reforms, but Johnson said the House Republicans would engage on the issue as well and won’t “go down the road of amnesty.”
“You can’t in any way lighten the enforcement requirement of federal immigration law,” Johnson said in a press conference. “We have to enforce our immigration law. The American people made that their number one issue in the last election.”
– Zac Anderson
Conservatives back off threat to vote down funding bill
Republican lawmakers have dropped their threat to vote against the government funding bill unless it is amended to incorporate voter ID legislation.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Florida, wrote on social media that the “price” for her vote was amending the legislation. But she later told reporters Feb. 2 that she and fellow GOP lawmaker Tim Burchett, R-Tennessee, had dropped their demand and would vote to advance the legislation when it comes up for a procedural vote this morning.
"As of right now, with the current agreement that we have, as well as discussions, we will both be a yes on the rule," Luna said, according to Fox News.
Trump had pushed back against lawmakers demands for changes to the funding bill in a social media post, and Luna said Senate Majority Leader John Thune agreed to hold a vote on the voter ID bill, according to Fox News. The GOP opposition to the legislation threatened its chances of passing in a chamber where Republicans hold a slim majority.
– Zac Anderson
Votes to end shutdown may hinge on tight margin
Tuesday's votes – one around 11:15 a.m. and another at approximately 1 p.m. – may hinge on a tight margin, depending on how many Democrats get on board.
While House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-New York, signaled Monday that Democrats wouldn't be voting en masse for the shutdown-ending funding package, signs emerged this week that others in his party were taking a different tack. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Connecticut, who represents Democrats on the House Appropriations Committee, said she'd be supporting the bills. The shift was notable given she was a no vote when the House first sent the initial versions of the measures, which she played a big role in negotiating and originally fully funded DHS, over to the Senate.
– Zach Schermele
Stark partisan divide over immigration enforcement funding
Leaders of the House Rules Committee, which moved the shutdown-ending funding package forward on Monday night, revealed a sharp partisan divide.
Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-North Carolina, said the House never flirted with a government shutdown, but she said the Senate “torpedoed” a previous spending package. She encouraged quick approval of the measure to allow lawmakers to work on other matters.
“To describe this as disappointing would be an understatement,” Foxx said. “This process should have been over and done with by now.”
The top Democrat on the committee, Rep. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts, spoke for many Democrats in opposing the spending legislation for DHS, citing the fatal shootings of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti last month.
“I’m not voting to fund this agency for two seconds let alone two weeks,” McGovern said. “They are terrorizing our communities and acting like they’re above the law.”
Is Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid impacted during government shutdown?
No, certain types of mandatory spending that are not fully subject to the annual appropriations process, including Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, do not completely stop during a partial shutdown, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (though they can still be impacted by disruptions).
National parks and food inspection services typically run as normal, too, the CRFB says.
But a partial closure can mean certain federal operations are stopped or scaled back to ensure only essential work is happening.