WASHINGTON — The House of Representatives passed a government funding bill on Tuesday, ending a brief, partial government shutdown but setting up a showdown over the Donald Trump administration’s deadly immigration enforcement tactics.
The bill passed 217 to 214, with 21 Democrats in support and 21 Republicans voting against it.
The legislation funds several federal agencies, including the Department of Defense, through September, but gives the Department of Homeland Security only 10 more days of funding as a way to force reforms to Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement tactics. The bill was a product of negotiations between Senate Democrats and the Trump administration.
After immigration agents killed two American citizens in Minneapolis last month, even Republicans have acknowledged the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement efforts have gone too far, and DHS said this week it will distribute body cameras to agents operating in Minneapolis.
Still, getting a deal on broader reforms will be difficult, and lawmakers are staring at a very real chance of a lapse in DHS funding next week, which will not deprive ICE and other immigration enforcement agencies of funds but will shut down other, more politically popular parts of the department, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Transportation Security Administration.
