The House narrowly voted Tuesday to clear a spending package that ends a four-day partial government shutdown and keeps most agencies funded through the remainder of the fiscal year.
But the Department of Homeland Security is only funded through Feb. 13 as Democrats say they will not support a full-year appropriations bill without guardrails on President Trump’s deportation force.
“They’re intentionally trying to sabotage the DHS approps bill, purely on politics, not policy,” Texas GOP Rep. Tony Gonzales told The Washington Times.
The 217-214 House vote sends the package to Mr. Trump for his signature. He said he would sign the bill “immediately” after receiving it.
“Republican policies on immigration enforcement have been a complete and total failure,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, New York Democrat, said. “Taxpayer dollars should not be spent to brutalize and kill American citizens.”
All but 21 House Democrats voted against the Senate-amended package that added the DHS stopgap because of their opposition to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
There were also 21 House Republicans who voted against the measure over a myriad of concerns about excessive spending.
In addition to the DHS stopgap, the legislation provides delayed fiscal 2026 funding for the departments of Defense, Education, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Labor, State, Treasury and Transportation — bills that had broad bipartisan support when they previously passed the House.
Mr. Trump agreed to the spending deal because he did not want “another long, pointless and destructive” government shutdown, which he said would hurt the country and not benefit either party.
He has not publicly commented on Democrats’ demands for the full-year funding bill, which includes ending roving immigration patrols, requiring agents to wear body cameras and identification and mandating independent investigations of use of force incidents.
Congressional Republicans have panned some of the Democrats’ demands, such as requiring ICE to obtain judicial warrants for arrests and banning federal agents from wearing masks. Several are skeptical that a bipartisan deal is possible or even Democrats’ actual goal.
Mr. Gonzales, who serves on both the Appropriations and Homeland Security committees, said Democrats’ demands are “unrealistic” and show they are not interested in an outcome. He pointed out that the Trump administration has already made moves to turn down the temperature, like working with local officials in Minneapolis and equipping agents there with body cameras.
