Trump Signs $1.2T Budget, Ends Shutdown (DHS Gets Short Extension Amid Immigration Standoff)
The US government is back up and running after President Donald Trump signed a $1.2 trillion budget into law. The measure barely passed the House of Representatives and the Senate. The package pays for most federal agencies until the end of the fiscal year in September. However, it only pays for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) until February 13, because lawmakers can’t agree on how to change immigration enforcement. After two US citizens were shot and killed by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis, Democrats are calling for changes to how the Department of Homeland Security works, especially limiting the powers of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. While negotiations are still going on, Congress agreed to a short-term extension of DHS funding. Republicans called this move impractical. The shutdown messed up a lot of government services, like putting aviation workers on leave and pushing back the release of the monthly US jobs report.
