US Government enters partial shutdown: What to know

The U.S. government entered a partial shutdown early Saturday following a standoff over new restrictions on federal immigration agents after the deaths of two protesters at the hands of federal agents in Minneapolis.

Funding lapsed for several agencies after the Senate on Friday voted 71-29 to fund most of the government though the end of September, while temporarily funding the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

That came after the White House agreed to separate funding for the DHS from the larger spending bill so Congress can debate new restrictions on federal immigration raids across the country.

However, the changes must be approved by the House, which is not set to return until Monday.

Why It Matters

A brief shutdown isn’t expected to have a significant impact on the operations of the affected departments and agencies. During a shutdown, federal employees who perform essential duties have to work without pay while those working in nonessential positions are usually furloughed, receiving back pay after the shutdown ends. 

It comes just two months after the longest government shutdown in U.S. history after Democrats blocked a spending bill over expiring health care subsidies as Republicans refused to negotiate, a dispute that closed the government for 43 days. It ended after a group of moderate Democrats broke away to struck a deal with Republicans.

But Democrats are more united after the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis amid the administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement surge. 

Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse, was killed by a Border Patrol agent on January 24, just weeks after Renee Nicole Good was killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent on January 7. Trump administration officials initially said Pretti had approached officers “brandishing” a firearm, but multiple videos of the shooting undercut that claim. 

What To Know 

As well as DHS, funding expired on Saturday for agencies covered by the pending bills.

They include the Departments of Defense, Education, Financial Services, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Labor, Transportation as well as related agencies and programs.

Several agencies have been funded through September in separate bills that have already been enacted, meaning they are not impacted by the shutdown.

They include the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Justice, the Department of Energy, the Department of the Interior, the Department of Commerce, the Food and Drug Administration and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Russ Vought, the director of the White House’s Office of Management and Budget, directed the heads of agencies to “execute plans for an orderly shutdown” in a memo on Friday.

Vought wrote that employees “should report to work for their next regularly scheduled tour of duty to undertake orderly shutdown activities.”

What People Are Saying 

Russ Vought, the director of the White House’s Office of Management and Budget, said in Friday’s memo: “The Administration will continue working with the Congress to address recently raised concerns to complete appropriations for Fiscal Year 2026.It is our hope that this lapse will be short.”

President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social on Thursday: “America is setting Records in every way, and our Growth Numbers are among the best ever. The only thing that can slow our Country down is another long and damaging Government Shutdown. I am working hard with Congress to ensure that we are able to fully fund the Government, without delay. Republicans and Democrats in Congress have come together to get the vast majority of the Government funded until September, while at the same time providing an extension to the Department of Homeland Security (including the very important Coast Guard, which we are expanding and rebuilding like never before). Hopefully, both Republicans and Democrats will give a very much needed Bipartisan ‘YES’ Vote.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, said in a speech on the Senate floor on Friday: “If Republicans are serious about the very reasonable demands Democrats have put forward on ICE, then there is no good reason we can’t come together very quickly to produce legislation. It should take less than two weeks because what we are asking for is very simple and our Republican colleagues know that we need to make changes.”

He added: “These are not radical demands. They’re basic standards the American people already expect from law enforcement.”

What Happens Next

Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said he expects the House to vote on Monday evening, but it is not clear how much support there will be for the package. 

He told House Republicans in a conference call on Friday that he hopes to pass the bill under a fast-track process, which would allow him to avoid needing unified Republican support to pass the package—although that measure requires a two-thirds vote to suspend the rules, according to The Hill.

Once passed and signed into law, the package will fund the government through the end of September while DHS will be funded for two weeks while Democrats negotiate restrictions over immigration enforcement.

Schumer said legislations needs to “rein in” ICE and end the violence. Democrats’ demands include an end to “roving patrols,” tighter requirements for warrants to make arrests, requirements for agents to wear identification and body cameras and an enforceable code of conduct so agents are held accountable.