UPDATED 3:53 P.M.
WASHINGTON, Feb 3 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed a spending deal into law that ends a partial U.S. government shutdown and gives lawmakers time to negotiate potential limits on his immigration crackdown.
The legislation restores lapsed funding for defense, healthcare, labor, education, housing and other agencies, and temporarily extends funding for the Department of Homeland Security until February 13.
Funding for those agencies expired on Saturday as Congress did not act in time to avert a shutdown, which has not resulted in major disruptions for government services so far.
Trump negotiated the spending deal last week with Senate Democrats, who are demanding new restraints on Trump’s aggressive immigration enforcement tactics following the killing of two U.S. citizens by federal agents in Minneapolis last month.
Trump’s administration is already deploying body cameras on immigration agents in Minnesota, partially acceding to one of the Democrats’ demands. Other Democratic proposals will face more resistance.
The deal passed the Senate by a wide bipartisan margin last week and narrowly passed the House of Representatives earlier on Tuesday by a vote of 217-214.
The last shutdown lasted a record 43 days in October and November, furloughing hundreds of thousands of federal workers and costing the U.S. economy an estimated $11 billion.
(Reporting by Bo Erickson, David Morgan and Richard Cowan; Editing by Andy Sullivan, Chizu Nomiyama and Mark Porter)
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UPDATED 12:42 P.M.
WASHINGTON, Feb 3 (Reuters) – Legislation that would end a U.S. government shutdown narrowly cleared a procedural hurdle in the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday, setting up a vote on final passage later in the day.
The legislation would fund defense, healthcare, labor, education, housing and other agencies until October, and temporarily extend funding for the Department of Homeland Security while lawmakers negotiate possible changes to immigration enforcement.
The deal has the backing of President Donald Trump and passed the Senate last week by a wide bipartisan margin.
The margin was much tighter in the Republican-controlled House, which voted to take up the legislation by a 217 to 215 vote.
Republican leaders struggled for more than 45 minutes to round up the support they needed. All of the chamber’s 214 Democrats voted against it.
Democrats are demanding new restraints on Trump’s aggressive immigration enforcement tactics, following the killing of two U.S. citizens by federal agents in Minneapolis last month.
House Republicans have only a 218-214 majority, which means they can lose only one Republican vote in the face of united Democratic opposition.
A prompt end to the partial government shutdown that took effect on Saturday would avert widespread disruption to government services and the economy. The most recent shutdown lasted a record 43 days in October and November, furloughing hundreds of thousands of federal workers and costing the U.S. economy an estimated $11 billion.
(Reporting by David Morgan and Richard Cowan; editing by Andy Sullivan and Chizu Nomiyama )
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By David Morgan
WASHINGTON, Feb 3 (Reuters) – The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives will try to pass a deal that would end the latest government shutdown on Tuesday over opposition from an unusual alignment of Democrats and hardline conservatives.
The legislation would fund defense, healthcare, labor, education, housing and other agencies until October, and temporarily extend funding for the Department of Homeland Security while lawmakers negotiate possible changes to immigration enforcement.
House passage would send it to Trump’s desk to be signed into law.
The deal passed the Senate last week by a wide bipartisan margin and has the backing of President Donald Trump. But it could face difficulty in the House.
Democrats are demanding new restraints on Trump’s aggressive immigration enforcement tactics, following the killing of two U.S. citizens by federal agents in Minneapolis last month.
Hardline Republicans have also threatened to block the legislation unless it includes provisions requiring proof of U.S. citizenship from those registering to vote and photo IDs from voters who cast ballots.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said that proposal did not belong in the spending bill. “Republicans are serious about governing. We’ll demonstrate that,” he said.
Trump urged lawmakers on Monday not to change the bill, which would risk prolonging a partial government shutdown that took effect on Saturday.
The vote could be close. House Republicans have only a 218-214 seat majority, meaning they can lose only one Republican vote if Democrats unite against it.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said his party would vote “no” in an initial procedural vote expected on Tuesday morning, though some may support the package if it clears that initial hurdle.
A prompt end to the shutdown would avert widespread disruption to government services and the economy. The most recent shutdown lasted a record 43 days in October and November, furloughing hundreds of thousands of federal workers and costing the U.S. economy an estimated $11 billion.
(Reporting by David Morgan; additional reporting by Richard Cowan; editing by Andy Sullivan and Chizu Nomiyama )
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