House Passes $1.2 Trillion Funding Bill, Ending Partial Shutdown

The House voted 217-214 on Tuesday to pass a package of roughly $1.2 trillion in spending, ending a partial government shutdown that began early Saturday, according to Al Jazeera, KATV (an ABC affiliate), Fox News, NBC News and CNBC. President Trump signed the bill the same day, KATV, NBC and CNBC reported.

The measure finalizes 11 of the 12 annual spending bills and funds most of the federal government through Sept. 30, according to Al Jazeera and KATV. NBC News and CNBC reported that the Department of Homeland Security was split off and given only a two-week stopgap, with a new deadline of Feb. 13. The Senate had passed the package the previous Friday, 71-29, NBC reported.

The vote cut across party lines. Al Jazeera and Fox News both reported that 21 Republicans voted against the bill and 21 Democrats voted for it, and Fox said Republicans split 196 in favor and 21 against. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries and his top lieutenants opposed the bill, Fox and NBC reported, including Minority Whip Katherine Clark, who voted no, NBC said. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, a Connecticut Democrat, voted yes, NBC and CNBC reported, and said the full-year bills put Democrats “in the best position to win that fight” over DHS funding, according to CNBC.

Speaker Mike Johnson had little room to lose Republican votes. CNBC reported that he could afford to lose only one Republican on party-line measures, and Al Jazeera put the House Republican majority at 218-214. A procedural vote earlier in the day passed 217-215, according to NBC and CNBC. Johnson said the administration had “engaged in good faith” with Senate Democrats, NBC reported.

The fight that remains is over homeland security. Democrats separated the DHS funding after immigration enforcement actions in Minneapolis, CNBC reported. KATV and NBC said the dispute follows fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, by federal agents there, and NBC said Democrats are demanding changes to ICE and Customs and Border Protection. Jeffries said Democrats are “united in our commitment to compel substantial reform at the Department of Homeland Security,” according to Al Jazeera. Rep. Robert Aderholt, a Republican from Alabama, told NBC that a DHS deal will be “very difficult” to reach by the next deadline.

Some conservative Republicans pushed to attach election-rule changes. Al Jazeera reported that a provision tightening voting requirements was unsuccessfully sought, and CNBC said many Republicans wanted a vote on the SAVE Act.

The lapse lasted about four days, far shorter than the 43-day shutdown that ended in November, which Al Jazeera and Fox News described as the longest in U.S. history. Lawmakers now have until Feb. 13 to agree on DHS funding, either through a broader deal or another short-term extension.