US Federal Government Starts Temporary Shutdown

(MENAFN) The US federal government entered a temporary shutdown early Saturday after lawmakers failed to pass a funding law before the deadline.

While the Senate approved a spending package late Friday night, the legislation could not take effect without approval from the House of Representatives, which is not scheduled to return to Washington until Monday. The absence of House action led to a lapse in government funding.

The Senate passed the measure by a 71–29 vote. The package included five full-year appropriations bills and a short-term extension for the Department of Homeland Security, granting two additional weeks to continue negotiations related to immigration enforcement policies.

Following the fatal shooting of American citizen Alex Pretti by immigration enforcement officers in Minnesota — the second such incident this month — Senate Democrats said they would not support the broader funding bill unless the portion allocating money to DHS was removed.

Despite the shutdown, officials expect the interruption to be brief if the House moves quickly to pass the legislation early next week.

There is little political appetite in Washington for a prolonged shutdown similar to the 43-day disruption that occurred late last year.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said on Friday that Democrats would “evaluate the spending legislation passed by the Senate on its merits and then decide how to proceed legislatively.”

He added: "The Trump administration must set forth an ironclad path that dramatically reforms ICE and other DHS agencies that the American people know have become lawless and heavy-handed.

It is in the best interest of the country that this is done before the Congress reconvenes on Monday evening and legislation is brought to the House floor," Jeffries said in a statement.

Ahead of the funding lapse, the director of the Office of Management and Budget instructed affected federal agencies to begin shutdown preparations. The directive applied to departments including defense, homeland security, state, treasury, labor, health and human services, education, transportation, and housing and urban development, all of which were set to lose funding at midnight.

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