(AFP) – The US House of Representatives is set to vote on Tuesday on a spending bill to end the partial government shutdown sparked by fury among Democrats over funding for the federal agency carrying out President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. The funding package narrowly survived a procedural vote in the House, where Republicans have a razor-thin majority, in the morning and a final vote is expected sometime after 1:00 pm (1800 GMT). The measure to advance the legislation to the House floor passed by a 217-215 vote, with Democratic lawmakers voting against it en bloc, joined by one Republican.
Several conservative Republicans have threatened to oppose the spending bill rather than meet Democratic demands to reform the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Negotiations for new money for DHS broke down following the killing of two US citizens by federal agents in Minneapolis, the Minnesota city which has become the flashpoint for the Republican president’s immigration crackdown. On Friday, the Senate passed a package clearing five outstanding funding bills to cover most federal agencies through September, along with a two-week stopgap measure to keep DHS operating while lawmakers negotiate immigration enforcement policy.
Trump has been pressuring Republicans to adopt the spending bill and end the shutdown. In a Truth Social post on Monday, the president said “there can be NO CHANGES at this time” to the legislation and called for its immediate passage. “We will work together in good faith to address the issues that have been raised, but we cannot have another long, pointless, and destructive Shutdown that will hurt our Country so badly,” Trump said in a reference to a record 43-day stoppage last summer. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson cannot afford to lose more than one vote on the Republican side and defections could force him to rely on Democratic votes to advance the funding bill and end the shutdown. A number of Democrats have indicated they are ready to support the spending package despite voting “no” in the procedural vote.
Democrats in the House had demanded changes to the way DHS conducts its immigration sweeps — with heavily armed, masked and unidentified agents who sometimes detain people without warrants — before voting on the spending package. Some concessions have already been made amid Democratic pressure and national outcry after agents shot and killed Renee Good, a mother of three, and Alex Pretti, a nurse who worked with veterans, in Minneapolis last month. On Monday, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said federal agents in the city would wear body cameras “effective immediately” in a move that would be later “expanded nationwide.”
If the House approves the Senate deal, lawmakers would then have just two weeks to negotiate a full-year DHS funding bill. Both parties acknowledge the talks will be politically fraught as Democrats demand new guardrails on immigration enforcement and conservatives push their own policy priorities. Shutdowns temporarily freeze funding for non-essential federal operations, forcing agencies to halt services, place workers on unpaid leave, or require them to work without pay.
– Robin LEGRAND
© 2024 AFP
