US President Trump reopened the federal government by signing a sweeping spending package on Tuesday afternoon. After the signing in the Oval Office, Trump said, “I am pleased that I am signing the Consolidated Appropriations Act.” This allows for an immediate reopening of the federal government and funding for most departments for the remainder of the fiscal year.
Homeland Security Department gets temporary relief
The three-day partial government shutdown ended with the President’s signature. However, the legislation provides only temporary relief for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and could face a funding crisis again after two weeks. According to media reports, the next deadline for DSS is fixed after two weeks.
Funding bill likely to be in trouble
The US House of Representatives on Tuesday approved a set of spending bills aimed at ending the partial shutdown and buying time for bipartisan talks over Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) accountability. According to The Washington Post, if agreement was not reached in time, DHS as well as the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) could be shut down on February 14.
According to the Washington Post, ICE and other immigration-related operations were being funded by $170 billion allocated for Homeland Security under the Republican tax and spending law passed last year. Meanwhile, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said ICE and the Department of Homeland Security need to make major changes. If this does not happen then the funding bill for the entire year will be in trouble.
Voting took place on the expenditure bill by 217-214.
Voting in the House of Representatives on the spending bill took place by 217-214. House Democrats told Speaker Mike Johnson not to cooperate in getting the process started, although 21 Democrats voted in favor of the final bill. At the same time, 21 Republican MPs also voted against it.
After signing the bill, Trump praised House Speaker Johnson and said that Speaker Mike Johnson has done a great job. We appreciate it. “I’m pleased to say that Republicans have gotten the job done,” Johnson said. He expressed hope that a DHS shutdown could be avoided next week and said this is not the time to play with funding. We look forward to negotiations in good faith over the next 10 days.
In this way, the government has reopened for the time being, but there is a possibility that the political tussle over Homeland Security funding will continue in the coming days.
