The federal government is poised to enter a partial shutdown just after midnight on Friday, a lapse that lawmakers in both parties say is likely to last only through the weekend.
The expected shutdown comes even as the Senate was moving Friday evening to pass a bipartisan spending package that would keep most of the government funded through the end of the fiscal year while buying two more weeks to negotiate new limits on the Administration’s immigration enforcement tactics. But with the House out of session until Monday, lawmakers acknowledged there was no practical way to send the bill to President Donald Trump before the deadline, making a short shutdown all but unavoidable.
[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]The pressure now shifts to the House, where lawmakers will have to decide whether to swiftly ratify the Senate plan or reopen a deeper fight over immigration and other policy priorities. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana has said the chamber could act as soon as it returns from recess on Monday. “We may inevitably be in a short shutdown situation,” Johnson said Thursday night. “But the House is going to do its job.”
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Friday that he’s supportive of the compromise deal but wants to ensure the negotiations that follow lead to “dramatic change at the Department of Homeland Security.”
The standoff over DHS funding escalated quickly after the fatal shooting last weekend of Alex Pretti, an American citizen, by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis—the second such killing this month. Widespread outrage over Pretti’s death energized Democrats, with many vowing to withhold their votes for a DHS funding bill unless Congress imposed strict new rules on Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Under the Senate plan, funding for DHS would be peeled off from the broader appropriations and extended for just two weeks, giving lawmakers and the White House time to debate changes to immigration enforcement. The rest of the government would be funded through Sept. 30. Trump endorsed the arrangement, warning on social media that “another long and damaging Government Shutdown” would hurt the country.
Another shutdown, even brief, could carry real consequences for millions of Americans. However, only part of the government will be shutting down this weekend as Congress had previously passed full-year funding for most agencies, including those that fund national parks and the Smithsonian museums. The agencies whose funding is expiring includes well-known acronyms like the IRS, FEMA and TSA, which account for more than three-quarters of discretionary spending. That means a significant portion of the civilian federal workforce could be affected during a prolonged shutdown, as many may be required to work without pay or could be furloughed. Federal workers are guaranteed back pay once funding is restored, under a 2019 law, though contractors are not.
Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid payments will continue, and unemployment benefits are not expected to be affected. The Postal Service, which is funded largely through fees, will keep delivering mail.
Read more: How the Government Shutdown Could Affect Your Life
ICE enforcement—the agency at the center of the shutdown fight—is set to continue unabated, as it received tens of billions of dollars in funding last year in Trump’s sweeping tax and spending law, giving it ample resources to sustain enforcement activities.
Senate Republican leader John Thune of South Dakota spent much of Friday managing objections from within his conference who argued that Republicans were conceding too much to Democrats on ICE oversight. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina initially held up negotiations over House-passed language repealing a law that allows senators to sue the government for hundreds of thousands of dollars over their phone records being seized as part of an investigation into Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. He also insisted on votes on proposals requiring local governments to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement. Graham ultimately lifted his blockade in exchange for a vote on his bill to end sanctuary cities.
Senate Democrats’ demands included a ban on agents wearing masks, requirements that they wear body cameras and visible identification, an end to random immigration sweeps, stricter warrant requirements and tighter use-of-force standards. They are also pressing for independent investigations into the recent shootings.
“This is a moment of truth,” said Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York. “Congress must act to rein in ICE and end the violence.”
As the House returns next week with a goal of reopening the government, air travel is likely to be top of mind. During a shutdown air traffic controllers and Transportation Security Administration officers are deemed essential, requiring them to work through a shutdown without pay. During the last shutdown, staffing strains forced flight reductions at dozens of airports, triggering widespread delays and cancellations.
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