(AFP) – The US Congress has teed up a Tuesday vote on a spending bill to end the government shutdown, following a House committee vote late Monday. The shutdown followed a breakdown in spending negotiations amid Democratic anger in response to federal immigration agents killing two US citizens in Minneapolis, which derailed talks over new money for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Late Friday, the Senate had 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. 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. On Monday evening, the House Rules Committee voted to move the Senate package forward for a full House vote, which is expected Tuesday.
Trump has been pressuring Republicans to swiftly adopt a spending bill to end the shutdown, even as some have voiced their disdain for the deal that opens the door to modest reforms on immigration agents. In a Truth Social post earlier Monday, Trump 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,” the Republican president said in a reference to a record 43-day stoppage last summer.
Democrats in the House want 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 masked immigration 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.” Both parties acknowledge these talks will be politically fraught, as Democrats are demanding new guardrails on immigration enforcement and conservatives are pushing their own policy priorities. Mike Johnson, speaker of the Republican-controlled House, has expressed optimism that an agreement is imminent.
“We’ll get all this done by Tuesday; I’m convinced,” Johnson said on Fox News Sunday. The speaker has a razor-thin majority in the House, however, and cannot afford to lose more than one vote on the Republican side. His margin was reduced even further on Monday with the arrival of a Democrat who won a special election in Texas. Republican defections could force Johnson to rely on Democratic votes to advance the funding bill and end the shutdown. If the House approves the Senate deal, lawmakers would then have just two weeks to negotiate a full-year DHS funding bill.
– Robin LEGRAND
© 2024 AFP
