The House has passed a roughly $1.2 trillion spending package to end a partial government shutdown. The bill next goes to President Donald Trump for his signature. The vote wraps up congressional work on 11 of the 12 annual appropriations bills, funding the vast majority of the government until Sept. 30. But there's one more funding fight to come. The last bill still to be worked out covers the Department of Homeland Security, where Democrats are demanding more restrictions on enforcement operations. Speaker Mike Johnson says he expects the two sides will be able to reach an agreement on Homeland Security funding by the deadline.
House Speaker Mike Johnson faces tough days ahead trying to pass a federal funding package and prevent a prolonged partial government shutdown. Democrats are demanding changes to rein in the Trump administration's immigration enforcement operations after the deaths in Minneapolis. But Republicans are making their own demands in support of President Donald Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration. A partial shutdown started over the weekend when funding lapsed for several agencies. Trump struck a deal with senators, who approved new funding, but only temporarily for Homeland Security until Feb. 13. That would give Congress time to consider new restrictions on Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Johnson needs Trump to help push that deal through the House.
The bipartisan funding deal President Donald Trump struck with Democrats to prevent a partial government shutdown this weekend appears back on track. Key Republicans pushed back on the agreement Trump struck with Democrats who are demanding new restrictions on federal immigration raids across the country. Under the deal, funding for the Department of Homeland Security would be separated from a broad government spending bill and give Congress two weeks to debate the issue. But GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham and others warned that their party was yielding too much to Democrats. Even if the Senate wraps up its work Friday, the House is not due back until Monday, meaning there could be a temporary shutdown over the weekend.
A partial government shutdown is looming at week's end. And now Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer has laid out a list of demands for the Department of Homeland Security as the Senate heads toward a crucial Thursday vote on whether to move forward with the spending legislation that funds DHS and a swath of other government agencies. Schumer says Democrats are asking the White House for an enforceable code of conduct for federal agents conducting immigration arrests and a requirement that they identify themselves to the public. Republicans will need Democratic votes to keep the government open when funding runs out at midnight Friday.
The House is looking to pass this year's final batch of spending bills. The effort on Thursday is being complicated by Democratic lawmakers' concerns the measure funding the Department of Homeland Security inadequately addresses President Donald Trump's mass deportation efforts. House Democratic leaders Hakeem Jeffries, Katherine Clark and Pete Aguilar announced in a closed-door meeting they would oppose the Homeland Security bill. With Republicans in charge of both chambers of Congress and the White House, Democrats have few good options to express their opposition. Speaker Mike Johnson voices confidence the funding bills will pass, including the Homeland Security measure.
The House is pushing toward a vote on renewing subsidies for Affordable Care Act plans. It's a remarkable rebuke of House Speaker Mike Johnson, who tried to stop it. But renegade Republican lawmakers joined with Democrats on a so-called "discharge petition" to force action. The health care tax breaks have lowered health insurance costs for roughly 22 million people, but expired last month. The Congressional Budget Office said the proposed three-year extension would increase the nation's deficit by about $80.6 billion over the decade, and increase the number of people with health insurance by millions. Members of the Senate are working on an alternative bill.
President Donald Trump has signed a government funding bill that ends a record 43-day shutdown. The disruption caused financial stress for federal workers who went without paychecks, stranded scores of travelers at airports and generated long lines at some food banks. The signing ceremony came just hours after the House passed the measure on a mostly party-line vote of 222-209. Democrats wanted to extend an enhanced tax credit that lowers the cost of health coverage obtained through Affordable Care Act marketplaces and refused to go along with a spending bill that did not include that priority. But Republicans said that was a separate policy fight to be held at another time, and they prevailed.
Airlines have canceled over 9,000 flights across the U.S. since the Federal Aviation Administration ordered flight cuts late last week. The cuts aim to ease demands on short-staffed control towers during the federal government shutdown. On Tuesday, another 1,200 flights were canceled as the FAA increased its target for reducing flights at major airports. Flights are expected to remain disrupted even as the shutdown nears an end, and cancellations are unlikely to ease right away. The pace of airline ticket sales for Thanksgiving travel has slowed as more travelers have reconsidered whether to fly amid all the delays and cancellations.
After refusing to convene the U.S. House during the government shutdown, Speaker Mike Johnson is recalling lawmakers back into session. They are set to consider the bill to reopen the federal government on Wednesday. As hundreds of lawmakers return they are bringing pent-up legislative demands after nearly two months away. There are calls to release the Jeffrey Epstein files and swear-in Arizona's Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva, who won her special election back in September. It's all a test of the speaker's leadership and shows the ways he has amassed power alongside President Donald Trump.
The Trump administration has asked a federal appeals court to block a judge's order to distribute November's full SNAP benefits during a U.S. government shutdown. A U.S. district judge had given the administration until Friday to make the payments through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. However, the administration is seeking to suspend any court orders requiring it to spend more money than available in a contingency fund. Meanwhile, some states, such as California, New Jersey and Wisconsin, have already started distributing the payments. The ongoing court battle adds to weeks of uncertainty for the food program, which serves about 1 in 8 Americans.
