Kamal Ghorui
Senate Democrats and a few Republicans on Thursday blocked a major government funding package that needed to pass by 11.59 pm Friday, signalling that negotiations between President Trump and Senate Democrats still had a way to go before reaching a deal.A motion to advance the bill failed by a vote of 45-55, the Hill reported.Eight Republicans joined all Democrats in voting against it, including Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.). Thune was a late “no” vote and immediately entered a motion to reconsider the package to give him flexibility to bring it back to the floor soon.Democrats blocked the funding package, which included six bills, because it included funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).They said they would not support Homeland Security funding until the Trump administration agreed to reforms to rein in Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) large-scale immigration crackdown and put an end to violent encounters between federal law enforcement and protesters.
Will there be second shutdown during Trump’s reign
If it is not passed before 11:59 Friday then, the second shutdown within months will begin at one minute after midnight on Friday 30 January.The entirety of the US federal government will not be impacted by a shutdown if it did occur this weekend. Legislation already passed funded dozens of agencies through the end of the 2026 fiscal year, which ended on 30 September, BBC reported. Those agencies, including the justice department, FBI and Department of Veterans Affairs, would not be impacted. Other branches were included in the same spending bill as DHS, including the defence department, health and human services, the treasury and the federal court system. In practice, a prolonged shutdown could see court operations and medical research disrupted, or labour statistics delayed. The Internal Revenue Service was also among the agencies that would be impacted, meaning that tax processing, including refunds, could be affected. DHS was also a sprawling department encompassing multiple agencies, including ICE, the Coast Guard, Secret Service and Customs and Border Protection.
How Trump government is planning to tackle with another shutdown
The Trump administration is now turning to negotiations, with talks intensifying in the final hours between the White House and Senate Democrats to reach an agreement on advancing a package of bills needed to fund the government. The discussions center on Democrats’ demand to separate the bill funding the Department of Homeland Security from five other government funding measures, as per ABC news. Democrats are pushing to remove DHS from the broader package so changes aimed at curbing Immigration and Customs Enforcement can be debated without jeopardizing funding for the other federal agencies.
