House Ends Partial Government Shutdown, But New Fight Over DHS Begins

A bipartisan coalition in the House approved a deal to fund the government, ending a four-day partial government shutdown.

The legislation passed 217 to 214. Twenty-one Republicans voted against the package, several of whom, like Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, are demanding stricter voter identification laws. Twenty-one Democrats voted for the package and 193 opposed, as a protest to giving even short-term funding to the Department of Homeland Security.

The $1.2 trillion funding package, which includes funding for the full fiscal year for several departments and a two-week continuation of current spending levels for DHS, rankled both parties. Conservatives attempted to attach a voter identification bill to the package, and some Democrats refused to support any resources for the Department of Homeland Security.

The day was not without drama. Leadership ultimately cajoled a handful of holdout Republicans to support the rule to advance the bill for a final vote. One of those lawmakers, Rep. John Rose, flipped his vote from “no” to “yes” after about 45 minutes of conversations with leadership. Four other conservatives — Reps. Byron Donalds, Andy Ogles, Victoria Spartz and Troy Nehls — also withheld their votes before eventually supporting the rule.

One Republican member told NOTUS that Rose “was upset” that President Donald Trump had not endorsed his campaign for Tennessee governor and would “burn this place down.” Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters later that Rose “is engaged in a tight race for the governorship of Tennessee. He’s thoughtful about that, and he wants a fair fight there, and so that’s what we discussed.”

Ultimately, Johnson successfully shepherded the legislation through the House.

Now, both chambers will have to turn their attention to the Department of Homeland Security’s Feb. 13 funding cliff. Under immense national pressure after federal immigration officers killed Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis, Democrats are demanding reforms to DHS, including requiring federal immigration enforcement agents to remove masks when they conduct operations.

“We all want the same thing,” the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, Rep. Rosa DeLauro, said during a Tuesday floor speech. “We want to keep our constituents safe. We want to stop the violence on the street. We want to end chaos in our communities that these out-of-control agencies have created.”

DeLauro’s optimistic assessment may prove unrealistic. While Trump has promised “good faith” negotiations to reform his administration’s immigration apparatus, many GOP lawmakers are firmly opposed to some of the Democrat-led proposed reforms, including removing masks.

Plus, Trump brokered the funding deal with Senate Democrats, allowing them to set up focused negotiations for the next DHS spending bill. That Senate-driven process could pose problems for the House’s Republican and Democratic leadership as lawmakers on the edges of both parties raise objections.

Tom Cole, chair of the House Appropriations Committee, told reporters Monday night that “it’s more likely that we’ll probably have another short-term extension” for DHS.

Cole also said “the president has shown the willingness to move on some” of Democrats’ demands, including trying to “lower the temperature” in Minnesota by moving in border czar Tom Homan.

“Everything’s on the table. And look, those were not things that White House wanted to do originally,” Cole said of concessions.