Government shutdown live updates as House approves funding package, ending standoff

In a 217 to 214 bipartisan vote, the House approved the funding package, sending it to the president's desk for his signature. 

With passage of the measures to fund the government, the partial government shutdown that began on Saturday will be brought to an end in short order. But a fight over how to fund the Department of Homeland Security, which will only be funded through Feb. 13, is far from over. 

If lawmakers are unable to reach an agreement to fund DHS, with Democrats seeking reforms to the administration's immigration enforcement operation, another partial shutdown could occur later this month. 

The House is now voting on final passage of the funding package. The package funds the Pentagon, the State Department, the Education Department, the Treasury Department and more agencies and programs through September. It also funds the Department of Homeland Security through Feb. 13, giving lawmakers time to negotiate over reforms to immigration enforcement. 

The package is expected to sail to passage with support from Republicans along with many Democrats. Though Democrats are seeking the reforms to ICE in the wake of two deadly shootings by federal agents in Minneapolis, many have acknowledged the need to fund the government. 

Johnson told reporters after the rule vote that he expects the funding package to easily pass.

"It should be fine," he told reporters, adding that he does not expect any more speed bumps. 

Johnson also insisted Mr. Trump "was not involved" in pressuring GOP holdouts to support the rule. 

"The president didn't have any role," he said. 

Asked how GOP leaders flipped Rep. John Rose from "no" to "yes" on the rule, Johnson said "no promises" were made and described the conversation as focused on Rose's gubernatorial bid in Tennessee. 

Speaking from the House floor, Democratic Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland urged his colleagues to vote in favor of the funding package, while acknowledging the concerns among members of the Democratic caucus.  

Hoyer, the former majority leader under then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, said five of the bills "are not controversial." He urged his colleagues to "vote for them to keep the government operating — to make sure that our federal employees come to work and do their job for the American people and get paid for it."

But Hoyer acknowledged concerns about funding the Department of Homeland Security, though the package would only do so through Feb. 13.

"There is one bill in this package that is very controversial," Hoyer said. "There is one bill in this package that the overwhelming majority of our side thinks should not be in the bill. But I remind my colleagues — that bill is funded for the next 10 days, or six legislative days. And during that period of time we intend to raise very substantial concerns about the operations that are being carried out not only in Minneapolis but in other parts of our country by the Immigration Customs and Border Patrol agents."

Hoyer cited the belief among many of his Democratic colleagues that voting against the package will "make a strong statement about the conduct that we see being carried out" by ICE and CBP. But he argued that Democrats "need to have focus on that issue," while noting that the other five bills will fund around 76% of the government, and represent "things that we have agreed upon."

"After they pass, after they're signed by the president, there will be a lot of time to debate the operations of Homeland Security and, in my view, the laws that they are breaking, the Constitution that they are not respecting and the human rights that they are underlining," Hoyer said. "There will be time for that debate. There will be time for that action. Today is a time to fund the majority of government for the American people."

The House is now debating the funding package before a vote on final passage set for later this afternoon. 

The one hour of debate time is equally divided between Republicans and Democrats. The chairman and ranking member of the Appropriations Committee — GOP Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma and Democratic Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut — are leading the debate for their respective parties.

House Republicans narrowly advanced the funding package in a 217 to 215 vote, with all but one Republican voting in favor of the procedural vote. Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky was the sole Republican to vote against it. 

The vote was open for more than 45 minutes as Johnson and GOP leaders worked their members to support the measure. One Republican, Rep. John Rose of Tennessee, flipped his vote from no to yes.

Republicans had to move the bill forward on their own after Democrats said they wouldn't help fast-track the package, which would have required around 70 votes from Democrats. Some Democrats are still expected to support the bill later Tuesday.

The procedural vote tees up a vote on final passage later this afternoon.

Rep. Troy Nehls of Texas voted in favor of advancing the funding measure. Just one Republican, Rep. Andy Ogles of Tennessee, has not voted. 

GOP leaders still need to flip one no vote to advance the package. 

Reps. Byron Donalds of Florida and Victoria Spartz of Indiana have now voted yes. The tally stands at 214 yeas to 216 nays.

GOP leaders need the two remaining Republicans who have not voted to vote in favor of advancing the package. They also need to flip one of the two no votes so far. The vote has been open for more than 30 minutes.

Four Republican members have yet to cast a vote:

• Rep. Andy Ogles of Tennessee
• Rep. Victoria Spartz of Indiana
• Rep. Troy Nehls of Texas
• Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida

The current tally stands at 212 yeas to 216 nays. Johnson needs all four outstanding GOP members to vote yes and for one of the GOP nays to flip for the rule to be adopted. 

Johnson and Majority Leader Steve Scalise are huddling with members on the House floor as the vote continues.

In a post on X before the House vote on the rule, Rep. John Rose of Tennessee — one of the two current GOP no votes — urged his colleagues to oppose moving forward if the package doesn't include the SAVE Act, the Republican election bill:

So far, two Republicans — Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and John Rose of Tennessee — have voted against moving ahead with the funding package. The vote on the rule is still open, meaning members can change their votes. If the current outcome holds, the rule will fail.

A handful of members have not yet cast their votes. 

Johnson has been speaking with members of his conference's right flank on the floor, including Reps. Keith Self of Texas, Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, Andrew Clyde of Georgia, Clay Higgins of Louisiana, Chip Roy of Texas and Victoria Spartz of Indiana.

GOP leaders regularly succeed in getting their members to flip their vote on the House floor. 

The House is now voting on approving the rule governing debate for the funding package, which will require a simple majority to succeed. If the rule is passed, the chamber is expected to vote on final passage at 1 p.m.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune cast doubt on the short timeline to reach an agreement on DHS funding. The temporary funding measure gives lawmakers until Feb. 13 to approve long-term funding for the department, or another stopgap measure. 

"Once we start, we have a very short timeframe in which to do this, which I lobbied against, but the Democrats insisted on a two-week window," Thune said. "I don't understand the rationale for that. Anybody who knows this place knows that's an impossibility."

Thune, a South Dakota Republican, said he's hopeful there will be a "sense of urgency around, if there's a path forward, what it might look like and what individual component pieces might be included." But he noted that members of the Republican conference remain in "very different places." 

At a press conference at the Capitol, Johnson expressed optimism that Republicans will remain united and approve the rule for the funding package this morning. He said he does not expect any GOP defections.

"We're going to pass the rule today. It was never in doubt to me. The Republicans are going to do the responsible thing. I did talk to Hakeem Jeffries over the weekend, and he informed me that they would not be assisting in this endeavor. And I just think that's crazy," Johnson said. "I mean, I just think that everybody needs to look at what's happening here: one party is moving forward — by the way, with the smallest margin in U.S. history, we now have a one vote margin. We are still sticking together. The Republican Party is sticking together because the stakes are so high."

He added: "Democrats, all they do, every single day here, is obstruct."

He said Democrats are in a "family squabble" and suggested that Jeffries, the House Democratic leader, was "upset, offended that Chuck Schumer presumed to speak for House Democrats" in his negotiations with the White House.

Dozens of House Democrats could end up voting in favor of the funding package later Tuesday, despite a pledge from Democratic leaders over the weekend not to help Republicans fast-track the legislation.

House Democrats conveyed to GOP leaders days ago that they wouldn't provide the votes to help pass the funding package under suspension of the rules — a maneuver that would speed the legislation's passage and would have required support from around 70 Democrats. Instead, Johnson had to maneuver the bill through the Rules Committee, and later Tuesday morning will have to keep his conference together on a partisan vote to move forward with the measure.

With a 218 to 214 majority, Johnson can only afford to lose one vote. A two-vote swing would result in a 216-216 tie, which means the rule would fail.

"Republicans have a responsibility to move the rule," Jeffries said Monday, adding that "it's hard to imagine a scenario where Democrats are going to provide Republicans" with votes. 

Still, a number of Democrats could opt to support the measure on final passage. 

Though the measure was negotiated between Senate Democrats and the White House, Democrats secured the two-week extension of DHS funds that they had sought, giving them time to negotiate reforms to the administration's approach to immigration enforcement. The short timeline means lawmakers will have to move swiftly, but Republicans and Democrats have expressed optimism about reaching a compromise. 

In a sign that the package could pick up support among Democrats, Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, said Monday that she plans to support it.

Jeffries said there are a "diversity of perspectives" among the Democratic caucus, while noting that outside of the temporary funds for DHS, there's "strong" Democratic support for the five bipartisan funding bills that comprise the package.

Republican leaders appeared to successfully quell a push by some House conservatives to attach an elections-related bill known as the SAVE Act to the funding package Monday, which threatened to stall the effort to reopen the government. 

Conservatives have long rallied behind the SAVE Act, which would require Americans to show proof of citizenship in person to register to vote in federal elections. The bill passed the House in April but hasn't been taken up in the Senate. 

The push, led by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, threatened passage of the funding package, since House GOP leaders can only afford to lose a single vote on a party-line procedural vote ahead of a vote on final passage. 

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer warned Monday that attaching the legislation would doom the funding package in the upper chamber. Hours later, President Trump weighed in on Truth Social, urging lawmakers to support the funding agreement and "send it to my desk WITHOUT DELAY," while noting that there should be "NO CHANGES at this time."

After a meeting at the White House, Luna and Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee told reporters later Monday that they will vote "yes" on the procedural vote to advance the funding package, while pointing to assurances they said they received about passing the measure in the Senate. 

Whether and how the measure moves forward in the upper chamber remains to be seen. 

The procedural vote to adopt the rule, which governs debate, is expected to begin around 11:15 a.m. ET.

Once Republicans overcome the procedural vote, the House can begin an hour of debate on the funding package, which is equally divided between Republicans and Democrats. 

A vote on final passage is expected after 1 p.m. 

In an 8-4 vote along party lines, the House Rules Committee advanced the funding package Monday night, teeing it up for a floor vote Tuesday. 

Before final passage, Johnson will face a crucial test in a procedural vote that Republicans will have to clear without any Democratic support. Johnson is operating with a one-vote margin.