The federal government has partially shut down due to Congress failing to pass a full spending bill. The shutdown, unlike a previous extended one, is expected to be short-lived. Disagreements over immigration enforcement and the deaths of U.S. citizens by federal agents contributed to the impasse. Negotiations are ongoing, with temporary funding proposed for the Department of Homeland Security.
The federal government has partially shut down after Congress failed to pass a full spending bill by 11:59 p.m. Friday. Unlike the record 43-day shutdown that ended just over two months ago, this one may not last long – and several important federal agencies and programs will continue to operate.
Here’s the latest: Yes, the government shut down again at midnight because Congress didn’t pass a budget on time. The shooting deaths this month of two U.S. citizens, Alex Pretti and Renée Good, by federal agents in Minneapolis, angered Democrats and derailed bipartisan budget negotiations.Democrats demanded that one of the six remaining funding bills, for the Department of Homeland Security and its associated agencies, be stripped from the package passed by the House. They said the bill must include changes to President Donald Trump's aggressive immigration enforcement, including a code of conduct for federal agents and a requirement that officers show identification.RELATED: DOJ launches civil rights investigation in Alex Pretti's deathAfter Senate Democrats blocked the funding bills on Thursday, the White House struck a deal with Democrats to temporarily fund DHS at current levels for two weeks while the negotiations play out.READ MORE: Disabled man dies as caretaker father remains in ICE custody in DallasThe Senate passed the amended spending package Friday, but it must pass the House again before becoming law. The House is not returning until Monday, which means funding will lapse for parts of the government for at least a couple of days. The House will try to pass the spending bills quickly when lawmakers return Monday, and that would end the shutdown. Several important federal agencies and programs have already been funded through September. Nutrition assistance programs, like SNAP and WIC, for example, should be unaffected.The Pentagon and agencies like departments of Homeland Security and Transportation are not funded this weekend, but essential functions will continue. Some federal employees will have to work without pay this weekend, including air traffic controllers. Travel delays are possible this weekend as a result, but they shouldn’t be as widespread as they were during the last shutdown. Experts have said FEMA, which is part of DHS, should have enough money to respond to the massive winter storm still affecting large swaths of the country. FEMA would have about $7 billion to $8 billion in a fund for disaster response and recovery efforts and the staff who work on them. An extended shutdown could put more pressure on that fund, especially if FEMA must respond to new disasters.This isn’t the first time the government has shut down for the weekend. It happened a couple of times during Trump’s first term. In January 2018, a dispute over immigration protections resulted in a weekend shutdown. Some federal workers were furloughed or worked without pay. Benefits such as Social Security and Medicare were uninterrupted, many people did not notice the shutdown and federal offices reopened the following Monday after a deal was in place.In February 2018, the shortest shutdown in U.S. history lasted about nine hours, overnight, and most people did not notice any impact. While agencies technically shut down after funding lapsed, it was so brief that furlough notices were not all sent out, and nothing was closed during business hours.
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