The House approved a more-than-$1 trillion spending package that ended the partial government shutdown, passing the measure 217 to 214 with 21 Democrats joining Republicans. President Trump signed the bill into law soon after its passage.
The legislation provides funding for many of the government’s largest departments through the end of the fiscal year in September — including the Pentagon, Health and Human Services, Transportation, Education, and Housing and Urban Development. It also includes a short-term funding extension for the Department of Homeland Security that runs through Feb. 13.
Lawmakers plan to use that roughly 10-day window to negotiate changes to federal immigration enforcement in the wake of two deadly Minneapolis incidents. Democrats are pushing reforms such as requiring body-worn cameras, banning officers from hiding their identities, and requiring judicial warrants for some enforcement operations. While body-worn cameras have bipartisan backing, Republicans have resisted other Democratic proposals, setting up difficult talks.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune and other top Republicans signaled that another brief homeland security funding bill will likely be necessary. Administration enforcement actions will continue in the meantime: last year’s Republican tax and spending package provided Immigration and Customs Enforcement with funding spread over four years, a package that included roughly $75 billion for immigration-related purposes.
Before the second Minneapolis shooting, most funding bills had been expected to move through Congress with bipartisan support as leaders tried to avoid another funding lapse after last fall’s record 43-day shutdown. That earlier standoff ended with full-year funding for some agencies and short-term extensions for others through January.
Democratic appropriators praised the final spending package for blocking deep cuts proposed by the administration — for example, the president had sought about a 50% reduction for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but the enacted bill keeps CDC funding largely flat.
After the second Minneapolis shooting, Senate Democrats vowed to withhold votes on funding until reforms were addressed, and some Republicans also expressed concern about the tactics used in the Minneapolis operations. In the closing hours of negotiations, Senate Democrats and the White House agreed to separate most government funding from the homeland security bill so that homeland security could be addressed independently.
The plan was delayed because the House was in recess and could not immediately approve the separated measures, which led to parts of the federal government briefly running out of money. Even after members returned, the deal remained fragile in a House with a slim Republican majority.