The House approved a more than $1 trillion spending package that ends the partial government shutdown, passing the measure 217 to 214 with 21 Democrats joining Republicans. President Trump signed the bill into law shortly after its passage.
The legislation funds several of the government’s largest departments through the end of the fiscal year in September, including the Pentagon, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the departments of Transportation, Education and Housing and Urban Development. It also contains a short-term funding measure for the Department of Homeland Security that runs through Feb. 13.
Lawmakers intend to use that roughly 10-day window to negotiate changes to federal immigration enforcement following the deaths of Renee Macklin Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis last month. Democrats are pushing for reforms such as requiring body-worn cameras, prohibiting officers from concealing their identities, and mandating judicial warrants for certain enforcement operations. While body-worn cameras have bipartisan backing, Republicans have resisted other Democratic proposals, foreshadowing difficult negotiations.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune and other leading Republicans indicated another brief homeland security funding bill will likely be needed. Even without a further stopgap, the administration’s immigration enforcement actions will continue; Congress provided Immigration and Customs Enforcement $75 billion over four years in last year’s Republican tax and spending package.
Before the second deadly Minneapolis shooting, most of the federal funding bills had been expected to move through Congress with bipartisan support as lawmakers sought to avoid another lapse following the record 43-day federal government shutdown last fall. That earlier standoff concluded with funding agreements for some parts of the government through September and a short-term extension through the end of January for many other programs.
Democratic appropriators praised the final spending package for averting deep cuts proposed by the Trump administration — for example, the administration had sought roughly a 50% reduction in funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but the enacted bill keeps CDC funding essentially flat.
The House had passed the final measures and sent them to the Senate. After the second deadly shooting in Minneapolis, Senate Democrats pledged to withhold votes on funding without reforms, and some Republicans expressed concern about the Minneapolis tactics. In the closing hours, Senate Democrats reached an agreement with the White House to separate most government funding from the homeland security bill.
However, the House was in recess last week and could not approve the separated measures immediately, leading to parts of the federal government running out of money. Even after House members returned this week, the deal remained precarious in a chamber where Republicans hold a slim majority.
