USA, the House approves the budget: the shutdown ends

The US House of Representatives has adopted a budget text to put an end to more than three days of paralysis of part of the federal administration. The promulgation expected immediately afterwards by Donald Trump will allow this “shutdown” to be officially concluded, in force since Saturday against the backdrop of disagreements between Republicans and Democrats on the funding of the immigration police (ICE), after the recent events in Minneapolis.

The House, with a Republican majority, approved a funding bill to end the partial government shutdown and start ten days of negotiations on the application of immigration rules. The green light, writes the Wall Street Journal, came after President Trump helped stifle internal party disagreements that could have caused the package to fail. The House approved the measure with 217 votes in favor and 214 against, guaranteeing funding for much of the federal administration until the end of the fiscal year on September 30.

The Senate had already approved the measure last week and now Trump is expected to sign it into law. The legislation allocates $1.2 trillion, spread across five spending provisions, including the Pentagon and the Department of Health and Human Services. The measure instead separates the funding of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), guaranteeing it funds until February 13 at current levels.

DHS was spun off to give lawmakers more time to negotiate over possible new restrictions on immigration agents requested by Democrats. Democrats are demanding that ICE agents be required to wear bodycams and carry identification, and aim to raise legal thresholds for stops and searches. They also ask for guarantees that federal agents are subject to the same rules on the use and abuse of force that apply to other police forces and that they are held accountable for any violations, including through independent investigations.

Trump signs the law that ends the partial shutdown

United States President Donald Trump signed the budget bill approved by the House of Representatives, allowing the reopening of the federal government, partially closed since Saturday. However, Congress will now face ten days of difficult negotiations to approve funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which is responsible for immigration.

The law arrived on Trump’s desk at the White House after passing by a narrow margin of 217 to 214 in the Republican-controlled House in the morning.
Twenty-one Democrats joined Republicans in voting for the funding package, while just as many Republicans opposed it rather than grant Democratic demands to reform the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Negotiations for new funding for the DHS have broken down following the killing of two US citizens by federal agents in Minneapolis, the Minnesota city that has become the focus of the Republican president’s immigration crackdown. On Friday, the Senate approved a package that clears five pending funding bills to cover most federal agencies through September, along with a two-week stopgap measure to keep DHS operational while lawmakers negotiate immigration enforcement policy.

Trump, who presided over a record 43-day government shutdown last summer, had pressured Republicans to pass the spending bill and end the shutdown that began Saturday. “This bill is a great victory for the American people,” he said at the White House signing ceremony.