Hopes that the House of Representatives could end the partial government shutdown on the very first day after returning to work appear slim—the Democrats oppose attempts to fast-track approval of the funding package.
The second government shutdown during Donald Trump’s second presidential term began late on Friday. The Senate has already approved the funding package, but the document still requires the consent of the House of Representatives before it can be sent to the president for signature. The shutdown, however, affects only part of the federal agencies and departments—the rest received funding through the end of the fiscal year in advance.
The shutdown is expected to last at least until Tuesday, one day longer than initially anticipated. House Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Democrats would not provide the votes needed to invoke the fast-track procedure that would allow the package to be approved as early as Monday.
Use of the expedited mechanism requires the support of two-thirds of the House of Representatives—at least 70 Democratic votes. Under these conditions, Speaker Mike Johnson intends to rely on the standard legislative process, which will take more time.
The House Rules Committee is scheduled to meet today at 4:00 PM to discuss the bill. A final vote is not expected before Tuesday.
In an interview with Fox News Sunday, Johnson said he was confident the measure would be approved by then. “We will get this done by Tuesday, I am confident of that,” he said.
As The Hill notes, moving the package through the standard rules process will pose a serious test for Johnson, given the Republicans’ razor-thin majority in the House of Representatives. Procedural votes are increasingly being used by individual Republicans to press last-minute demands—and at times to derail votes altogether—resulting in delays.
The situation could become even more complicated after Democrat Christian Menefee’s victory in a special election in Texas on Saturday. Once he is sworn in, Republicans will hold a 218–214 advantage, leaving Johnson able to lose no more than one vote within his caucus—assuming full attendance and unified opposition from Democrats.
The package agreed between the White House and Senate Democrats provides for separating the bill funding the Department of Homeland Security into a standalone measure, distinct from five other bills covering funding for different parts of the federal government, including the departments of defense, state, treasury, health and human services, housing and urban development, and labor.
Once the package is approved, all agencies except the Department of Homeland Security will receive funding through the end of the fiscal year, which concludes on September 30.
A temporary two-week measure is предусмотрed for the Department of Homeland Security to give negotiators time to discuss changes to the relevant bill. Democrats have come out almost unanimously against its current version following the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti at the hands of federal immigration agents in Minneapolis last month.