Government shutdown live updates as funding fight turns to the House
What to know about the partial government shutdown:
- A partial government shutdown began Saturday when funding lapsed for the departments of Defense, Homeland Security, State, Treasury and more. The House is returning Monday to work to resolve the impasse.
- Hours before the funding deadline Friday, the Senate passed a five-bill package to fund the agencies and programs through September, along with a short-term extension of funding for DHS amid scrutiny over the administration's immigration enforcement policies. Next, the funding package must be approved by the House.
- House GOP leaders are aiming to move swiftly to approve the funding package. Speaker Mike Johnson said he expects to start funding the government by Tuesday.
- The speaker could still face hurdles, with a razor-thin GOP majority and some opposition among conservatives, along with unwillingness from Democrats to fast-track the legislation. Still, there is little appetite on Capitol Hill for a prolonged shutdown like the one that lasted 43 days last fall.
Lawmakers face short timeline to negotiate DHS funding with ICE reforms
Beyond the immediate task of funding the government, the approach is also setting up a short timeline to negotiate funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which has been at the center of the spending fight.
The two-week funding measure for DHS, which Democrats advocated for, means both parties have little time to come to an agreement over how to reform the administration's approach to immigration enforcement.
In the wake of two deadly shootings by federal agents in Minneapolis, Democrats have demanded a number of reforms, including an end to roving patrols and tightening of the rules governing the use of warrants, along with requiring ICE to coordinate with state and local law enforcement. They've also demanded a uniform code of conduct and accountability to hold federal agents to the same use-of-force policies as state and local law enforcement and a "masks off, body cameras on" policy for federal agents.
Republicans had pushed for a longer timeline for negotiations, with up to a six-week continuing resolution for DHS. And Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters after the Senate approved the funding package last week that it's going to be "really, really hard to get anything done."
"We'll stay hopeful but there are some pretty significant differences of opinion," Thune said.
Johnson appeared more optimistic Sunday that a resolution can be reached in the short timeline.
"I've got to get everybody in a room and work this out. I think we can," Johnson said on "Fox News Sunday."
The speaker outlined that some of the demands Democrats have made are supported by Republicans, like on ending roving patrols and requiring body cameras. But other issues, like requiring federal agents not to wear masks and to identify themselves, would meet opposition.
"The head of DHS and the head of the operations in Minnesota and the president himself have said that we're close to getting there," Johnson said of negotiations. "We can agree to some of these conditions, because everybody, all the American people, want the law to be enforced and done in a meaningful and efficient and effective way."
House Homeland Security Committee Democrats urge colleagues to oppose funding package
House Homeland Security Committee Democrats, led by Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, sent a letter to their Democratic colleagues on Sunday urging them to vote against the government funding package that includes a two-week continuing resolution to fund the Department of Homeland Security.
"Democrats must act now to demand real changes that protect our communities before Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) receive another dollar in funding," the Democrats wrote in the letter. "This is what our constituents elected us to do — to hold ICE and this administration accountable when they fail to adhere to the Constitution or follow the law."
The Democrats outlined a number of changes they're seeking, including bringing an end to the immigration operation in Minneapolis and clawing back funds ICE and CBP received in President Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act last year. They added that DHS Secretary Kristi Noem "must go."
Johnson says he expects House to fund the government by Tuesday
Johnson expressed confidence in a pair of interviews Sunday that the House will pass the funding package to reopen the government by Tuesday, despite a number of hurdles ahead.
"We have a logistical challenge of getting everyone in town," Johnson said Sunday on "Meet the Press." "And because of the conversation I had with Hakeem Jeffries, I know that we've got to pass a rule and probably do this mostly on our own."
Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, said "Republicans are going to do the responsible thing and fund the government." But he acknowledged that he may face some opposition among members of his own party as well.
"I have a lot of conversations to have with individual Republican members over the next 24 hours or so," Johnson said on "Fox News Sunday."
Still, Johnson added, "we'll get all this done by Tuesday, I'm convinced."
"I don't understand why anybody would have a problem with this," Johnson said, noting that the bulk of the funding package has already passed the House.
Johnson said "we're going to do it again," calling the approval a "formality at this point."
House Rules Committee to take up funding package Monday afternoon
With the House back in Washington, the package will first go to the Rules Committee, which is set to meet Monday afternoon to consider the legislation after Democrats informed GOP leadership that they would not help fast-track the bill.
Though the Rules Committee route requires a simple majority for passage on the House floor, the legislation will need to pass several procedural hurdles where votes are typically along party-lines.
First, it's unclear whether the funding package can clear the Rules Committee, where at least one Republican, Rep. Chip Roy of Texas, has said he has his own demands for DHS funding. Second, if it advances out of the committee, there are questions about whether Johnson can keep his party united in a procedural vote before final passage.
On the floor, Johnson can only afford to lose two votes if all members are present and voting. Attendance has already created issues for Republicans this year.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, a Florida Republican, has said that she'll withhold her support unless legislation that would require Americans to show proof of citizenship in person to register to vote in federal elections is attached.
Any changes to the package would require sending it back to the Senate, prolonging the shutdown.
House Democrats not expected to help GOP fast-track funding deal
House Democrats conveyed to GOP leadership over the weekend that they wouldn't provide the votes to help pass the funding package under suspension of the rules — a maneuver that would fast track the legislation's passage.
"We need a full and complete debate," House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said on MSNOW Saturday. "And what I've made clear to House Republicans is that they cannot simply move forward with legislation taking a 'my way or the highway' approach."
House Speaker Mike Johnson and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries spoke Saturday, two sources familiar with the conversation confirmed to CBS News.
Johnson acknowledged on NBC's "Meet the Press" Sunday that after his call with Jeffries, he expects Republicans will "probably do this mostly on our own."
The dynamic means Johnson will have to shepherd the legislation through the Rules Committee before it goes to the floor for a simple majority vote. GOP leaders, with a narrow majority in the chamber, must have near unanimous support among Republicans — and could still face hurdles from conservatives on the Rules Committee and otherwise.
Here's what's behind the partial government shutdown
The Trump administration's approach to immigration enforcement has been the focus of this funding fight.
Since the longest shutdown in U.S. history last fall, lawmakers have been working to pass individual spending bills to fund federal agencies through September 2026. Congress has passed six of those bills already, and they have been signed by the president. The other six are the focus of the current funding fight.
While the funding measures had been on track to pass ahead of the deadline earlier this month, the deadly shooting of Alex Pretti by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis changed things for Democrats. They came out fiercely against funding for DHS without further reforms, and in the Senate, Democrats pledged not to provide the votes to move forward on the funding package unless the DHS money was stripped out.
Read more here.