Trump Reaches Last-Minute Deal With Democrats To Avert Govt Shutdown
President Donald Trump and Senate Democrats reached a late-night agreement Thursday aimed at preventing a broad federal government shutdown, advancing funding for most agencies through the end of the fiscal year while granting the Department of Homeland Security a two-week stopgap extension.
Under the deal, Congress will move forward with five spending bills covering the bulk of the federal government through September, while DHS, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement, will operate under a short-term continuing resolution set to expire in mid-February. The temporary extension is designed to give lawmakers time to negotiate Democratic demands for tighter oversight and policy changes at DHS and ICE following public outrage over recent enforcement actions, NBC News reported.
Trump publicly urged lawmakers from both parties to support the agreement, warning that another extended shutdown would damage the economy and disrupt government operations. In a post on Truth Social, the president framed the deal as a bipartisan effort to keep the government functioning while allowing further negotiations over homeland security policy.
The agreement followed the Senate’s rejection earlier Thursday of a sweeping $1.2 trillion funding package passed by the House last week. That legislation failed to advance after Democrats withheld support over DHS-related concerns, while several Republicans also voted against it, underscoring the fragile coalition needed to pass spending legislation, according to Reuters.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Democrats viewed the short-term DHS funding extension as critical leverage to secure “guardrails” on immigration enforcement, arguing that Congress has both the authority and responsibility to act. Republicans, meanwhile, largely deferred to the White House to broker a compromise capable of clearing the Senate.
While the Senate could vote on the agreement as soon as Thursday night, the House is not scheduled to return to Washington until Monday. As a result, funding for several agencies is still expected to briefly lapse over the weekend, though the impact is likely to be limited because most federal offices do not operate on Saturdays and Sundays, Reuters reported.
If approved by both chambers, the deal would keep most of the federal government funded through September and set the stage for another high-stakes funding deadline in February, when DHS financing expires. Until then, the agreement offers a temporary reprieve from a prolonged shutdown while leaving the deeper fight over immigration policy unresolved.
