The US government stumbled into a partial shutdown on Saturday as President Donald Trump waited for the House to approve a funding deal with Democrats over the killing of a US citizen by Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis.
Thursday, January 29, at the US Capitol in Washington, DC. (Bloomberg)With the House returning from a one-week recess on Monday and the Republican president fully supporting the spending package, the funding shortfall is likely to narrow. Many Americans may not even notice since most federal employees who work weekends, such as military personnel and air traffic controllers, are considered essential and are not given time off during the shutdown.
This is the second time Congress has failed to fund the government since Trump returned to office last year. A 43-day shutdown during the fall was the longest and most disruptive ever, cutting off food aid for millions of families, canceling thousands of flights and leaving federal workers without pay for more than a month.
The shutdown is more limited since some parts of the government are already fully funded through September 30 of the federal fiscal year.
This includes the Department of Agriculture, so there will be no restrictions on food stamps. The National Parks, Veterans Services and Justice Departments have also already approved their funding for the year.
Still, the affected agencies — which include the Treasury, Defense, Homeland Security, Transportation, Health and Human Services and Labor departments — will go through the formal process of closing, according to a White House Office of Management and Budget memo.
“It is our hope that this gap will be shortened,” OMB Director Russ Vaught wrote in a memo Friday, adding that the administration would be ready to order the government to reopen as soon as Trump signs the funding bill into law.
The House Rules Committee added a vote on the spending measure to Monday afternoon’s meeting agenda to send it to the floor for final passage.
It is unclear whether the Bureau of Labor Statistics will delay the release of the monthly jobs report scheduled for Friday, if there is a brief government shutdown.
The shutdown fight began last weekend after US citizen Alex Pretty was killed in a confrontation with Border Patrol officers in Minneapolis. Democrats refused to renew funding for the Department of Homeland Security unless new restrictions were placed on immigration enforcement.
Democrats are seeking to require DHS agents to use body cameras and obtain judicial warrants. They want to ban unmasking agents and stop broad immigration sweeps.
Trump and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer on Thursday struck a deal to fund DHS for two weeks while they continue to negotiate claims. The remaining government funding will be due by September 30.
The Senate approved the funding deal on Friday.
Trump has signaled in recent days that he will make changes to his administration’s deportation campaign. According to polls, the crackdown has become increasingly unpopular with voters, posing a risk to the Republican Party in the upcoming midterm elections.
–Assisted by Gregory Court and Molly Smith.
(House Rules Panel Update Plans Monday Vote on Article VIII)
More stories like this are available at bloomberg.com
©2026 Bloomberg LP
