A partial shutdown of the US government took effect at midnight Friday, after Congress failed to meet its funding deadline. The move is driven by Democratic opposition to aggressive immigration enforcement following the killings of two US citizens in Minneapolis.
Lawmakers from both parties have been working behind the scenes to prevent a prolonged shutdown, despite tensions running high. A Senate bill passed on Friday with bipartisan support was intended to provide temporary funding for most government agencies until the end of September.
However, the House of Representatives is not expected to vote on the new budget bills until Monday at the earliest, which means that US President Donald Trump will have to sign the bills into law by then. The shutdown is seen as likely to be brief, with lawmakers and officials expressing optimism that it can be resolved early next week.
The funding impasse has been fueled by Democratic outrage over the killing of Alex Pretti and Renee Good by federal agents in separate incidents in Minneapolis during a violent operation against undocumented migrants. This has hardened opposition to approving new funds for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) without changes to how immigration agencies operate.
Senate Democrats have called for investigations into the fatal shootings, with Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer stating that "the nation is reaching a breaking point" and urging Congress to force change. The deal negotiated between the White House and Senate Democratic leaders separates funding for DHS from the broader government funding package, allowing lawmakers to consider new restrictions on immigration enforcement while still approving spending for other agencies.
Funding for the DHS has been split off and extended for two weeks under a stopgap measure, giving lawmakers time to negotiate changes to the department's operations. The House of Representatives will review the Senate-approved bill next week, with concerns that the shutdown could drag out longer due to ongoing polarisation around Trump's administration's immigration policies.
Trump had urged lawmakers to support the deal, calling it a "much-needed Bipartisan 'YES' vote". Despite the impasse, officials are hopeful that the shutdown can be resolved early next week.
Lawmakers from both parties have been working behind the scenes to prevent a prolonged shutdown, despite tensions running high. A Senate bill passed on Friday with bipartisan support was intended to provide temporary funding for most government agencies until the end of September.
However, the House of Representatives is not expected to vote on the new budget bills until Monday at the earliest, which means that US President Donald Trump will have to sign the bills into law by then. The shutdown is seen as likely to be brief, with lawmakers and officials expressing optimism that it can be resolved early next week.
The funding impasse has been fueled by Democratic outrage over the killing of Alex Pretti and Renee Good by federal agents in separate incidents in Minneapolis during a violent operation against undocumented migrants. This has hardened opposition to approving new funds for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) without changes to how immigration agencies operate.
Senate Democrats have called for investigations into the fatal shootings, with Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer stating that "the nation is reaching a breaking point" and urging Congress to force change. The deal negotiated between the White House and Senate Democratic leaders separates funding for DHS from the broader government funding package, allowing lawmakers to consider new restrictions on immigration enforcement while still approving spending for other agencies.
Funding for the DHS has been split off and extended for two weeks under a stopgap measure, giving lawmakers time to negotiate changes to the department's operations. The House of Representatives will review the Senate-approved bill next week, with concerns that the shutdown could drag out longer due to ongoing polarisation around Trump's administration's immigration policies.
Trump had urged lawmakers to support the deal, calling it a "much-needed Bipartisan 'YES' vote". Despite the impasse, officials are hopeful that the shutdown can be resolved early next week.
Ugh, another government shutdown 
! Can't these politicians just get along for once? I mean, come on, two people die in a violent operation and suddenly everything comes to a grinding halt. It's like they're all playing some kind of sick game 
. And what's with the stopgap measure? Two weeks? That's just delaying the inevitable 
. Meanwhile, our country is suffering... or at least, that's how it feels 
. I swear, sometimes I think these politicians forget about us regular folk who are actually affected by their decisions 
. Anyway, fingers crossed they get this sorted out soon and we can move on from this drama 
.
two people killed by fed agents and now theres a government shutdown? like whats going on? 
i feel bad for the families of the victims i hope they get some answers soon. anyway, im not really sure how politics works but it seems like there are some ppl who dont want to fund DHS because of immigration policies...like isnt that what the country is supposed to do? protect its citizens? 
.
I mean, who gets killed by federal agents in Minneapolis? 
It's not right 
What's the point of even having lawmakers if they can't even pass bills on time? 
The House is being super slow about it, and that's just making things worse 
. The fact that Schumer is pushing for investigations into those fatal shootings is understandable, but maybe they can do that alongside passing the funding bill? 
just what we need another gov't shutdown 
US citizens shouldn't b afraid of being killed by agents they're there 2 protect not harm 
now it's all about bipartisanship 
and finding common ground 
we gotta work together 
to make things better 
for everyone not just a select few 
. now it feels like the whole country is divided into two teams and no one can seem to agree on anything 
. i just wish lawmakers could put aside their differences and work together for the greater good 
. can we please just get some temporary funding passed so people don't suffer in the meantime? 
. What really gets my goat is how polarized everything has become, with people dug-in on opposite sides of an issue. Like, can't they see that finding common ground isn't all that hard? 
And let's be real, the deaths of those two people in Minneapolis were tragic – shouldn't we be more focused on preventing these sorts of incidents in the future rather than using them as a wedge issue? 
. I mean, two people killed by federal agents in a violent operation? That's not something you can just sweep under the rug 
. The fact that Senate Democrats are calling for investigations is a good start, but it's going to take more than that to address this issue on a larger scale 
. Can we please get some concrete action out of this soon? 
. I get it, immigration is a big deal 
. I mean, what's the worst that could happen? 
We'd just have to wait a bit longer for our paychecks 
. It's not like we haven't had these kinds of problems before 
! like what's up with them not agreeing on funding? and now they're trying to pass a separate bill for DHS without making any changes to how immigration agencies operate... that's just not cool dude 
. let's hope congress gets their act together soon and this shutdown is just a brief thing 
