US government shuts down for second time in four months

Multiple federal agencies remain without funding as Democratic lawmakers demand major reforms to immigration enforcement

The US federal government has entered a partial shutdown, the second such instance since last October, amid bickering between Democrats and Republicans over immigration.

Starting early Saturday, the departments of War, Education, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Labor, State, Transportation and Treasury have been left without federal funding, with the Executive Office of the President and the Supreme Court also affected. All other federal agencies have been allocated funds.

The $1.2 trillion funding package hit a snag in the wake of deadly incidents in which Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents fatally shot Alex Pretti and Renee Good during a crackdown on illegal migrants in Minneapolis, Minnesota, earlier this month.

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Democratic lawmakers demanded that one of the six remaining funding bills – for the Department of Homeland Security and its associated agencies – be struck from the package unless it stipulated major reforms to immigration enforcement. They called, among other things, for the establishment of a code of conduct for ICE agents and a requirement that federal agents show identification.

Washington Democratic Senator Patty Murray said that ICE and Customs and Border Protection are “out of control, and that we cannot just wait for the same president who caused this mess to address it.” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Democrats were seeking “dramatic changes at the Department of Homeland Security.”

The Senate passed the five-bill funding package on Friday evening; however, it must be approved by the House of Representatives again before becoming law. House members will not return from recess until Monday evening, resulting in a partial shutdown until then.

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Last fall, the US federal government endured its longest shutdown on record, lasting some 43 days. It ended in mid-November when the House approved a bill to fund the government through January 30, 2026.

The sticking point at the time was a dispute over health tax credits under the Affordable Care Act, which Democrats sought to extend into the following year. Eight Senate Democrats eventually broke the deadlock by voting with Republicans, drawing the ire of their fellow party members.