House Sends Bill to Trump to End Government Shutdown

The House of Representatives on Tuesday approved a Senate-passed spending package to reopen much of the federal government, ending a four-day partial shutdown in which the Trump Administration’s immigration crackdown became the central issue.

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The 217-to-214 vote sent the measure to President Donald Trump’s desk, capping days of brinkmanship that underscored how little margin for error House Speaker Mike Johnson has as he governs with one of the slimmest majorities in modern history. While 21 Democrats joined most Republicans in voting for the measure, just as many Republicans joined most Democrats in voting against it.

The legislation funds large swaths of the government for the rest of the fiscal year, but only extends financing for the Department of Homeland Security until Feb. 13. The temporary funding is meant to give lawmakers time for negotiations over demands by Democrats to rein in federal immigration enforcement.

The package had been negotiated by Senate Democrats and the White House and passed the Senate last week with Trump’s backing. But its path through the House was anything but smooth. Progressive Democrats revolted over the prospect of blessing any additional funding for immigration enforcement agencies, particularly Immigration and Customs Enforcement, while conservative Republicans demanded unrelated policy concessions or rejected the bill outright as fiscally irresponsible.

In the end, Johnson relied on a combination of White House pressure, late-night negotiations and a reluctant coalition of Republicans and Democrats who agreed that prolonging the shutdown would inflict unnecessary harm on federal workers and the broader economy.

The shutdown began Saturday morning after the House left Washington without acting on the Senate plan. Agencies tied to the unfunded bills, including Homeland Security and the Departments of Defense and Transportation, were forced to furlough employees or require them to work without pay. Federal workers are expected to receive back pay now that funding has been restored.

The most contentious element of the package was the two-week stopgap for Homeland Security. Democrats, particularly progressives, argued that even a short extension would reward what they described as abusive and unconstitutional enforcement tactics under Trump’s immigration crackdown, which has intensified in recent weeks.

House Democratic leaders pressed for sweeping changes, including higher legal thresholds for searches and arrests, mandatory use of body cameras, a ban on masks for immigration agents and tighter limits on warrantless operations. Some lawmakers went further, calling for ICE to be denied funding altogether or dismantled entirely.

“I just in good conscience cannot vote to give more money to ICE agents as they’re violating our constitutional rights,” Rep. Ro Khanna of California said on NBC’s Meet the Press.

Johnson publicly dismissed several of the Democrats’ demands, including requirements for judicial warrants and a ban on masks, but signaled openness to others. He argued that the two-week extension was necessary to allow time for negotiations rather than force a prolonged shutdown.

“The President is leading this,” Johnson said Sunday on Fox News, referring to Trump’s support for the agreement and his willingness to discuss potential changes to enforcement practices.

Democrats said they were being asked to trust an Administration that had offered few concrete commitments. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told colleagues that while the Senate deal was “a step in the right direction,” House Democrats had not been part of the negotiations and would not provide automatic support. He warned that Democrats would not help fast-track the bill, forcing Republicans to move it through the standard procedural process.

“I still haven’t seen an ironclad path articulated by the Trump Administration, related to the type of dramatic changes that are necessary in order to rein in ICE,” Jeffries told reporters Monday.

Republicans themselves were hardly unified. Hard-liners objected to the bill’s spending levels and to what they described as concessions to Democrats. Others demanded attaching to the measure unrelated conservative priorities such as the SAVE Act, which would require proof of citizenship to register to vote.

Members of the House Freedom Caucus also balked at the two-week Homeland Security extension, saying it was too short and demanding a four- to six-week window instead. Some conservatives criticized earmarks in the bill and objected to foreign aid provisions.

With Republicans threatening defections and Democrats refusing to provide procedural help, Johnson turned to the White House. The Speaker has frequently leaned on Trump to rally skeptical lawmakers, and this time was no exception as the President publicly endorsed the package and urged Republicans to fall in line.

“I hope all Republicans and Democrats will join me in supporting this Bill, and send it to my desk WITHOUT DELAY,” Trump posted on Monday. “There can be NO CHANGES at this time.”

Johnson’s margin was further tightened by the seating this week of a newly elected Democrat from Texas, leaving him able to lose no more than one Republican vote if all members were present.

Trump has sent mixed signals on what changes he might accept. He recently moved to scale back aspects of the enforcement campaign and replaced the leader of the Minneapolis operation with his border czar Tom Homan after deadly encounters with civilians in the city. The Administration also announced on Monday evening that it would begin deploying body cameras to DHS law enforcement, starting in Minneapolis, partially satisfying at least one demand from Democrats. 

But the Administration has been more resistant to requiring judicial warrants for apprehensions or a ban on ICE agents wearing masks.

For now, the government is open again, but with Homeland Security funding set to expire in two weeks, lawmakers in both parties acknowledged that the underlying conflict is far from resolved.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated.