President Donald Trump early this morning signed bills to end partial US government shutdown after the House of Representatives narrowly approved a bipartisan deal.
The legislation would restore lapsed funding for defence, healthcare, labour, education, housing and other agencies, and temporarily extend funding for the Department of Homeland Security while legislators negotiate possible changes to immigration enforcement.
Funding for those agencies expired on Saturday as Congress did not act in time to avert a shutdown, which has not resulted in major disruptions for government services. The deal had already passed the Senate by a wide bipartisan margin.
The Republican-controlled House passed it by a vote of 217-214, with 21 Republicans voting against it and 21 Democrats voting for it.
Democrats are demanding new restraints on Trump’s aggressive immigration enforcement tactics following the killing of two US citizens by federal agents in Minneapolis last month.
Some Republicans on the party’s right flank had sought unsuccessfully to modify the bill to include a provision that would tighten voting requirements. House Republicans have only a 218-214 majority, which means they can lose only one Republican vote in the face of united Democratic opposition.
The last shutdown lasted a record 43 days in October and November, furloughing hundreds of thousands of federal workers and costing the US economy an estimated $11 billion.
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