The US government restarted after a brief shutdown; Trump signed a funding agreement.

Author: Xiao Yanyan, Jinshi Data

The partial shutdown of the U.S. federal government ended late Tuesday night local time, after Trump signed an appropriations bill he negotiated with Senate Democrats into law. The shutdown stemmed from a deadlock in his administration's immigration crackdown policy, with Trump overcoming opposition from both sides of the political spectrum.

Trump praised the appropriations package as a "great victory for the American people" and emphasized that the bill continues to fund deportation flights, which has drawn strong opposition from Democrats.

However, a more limited funding crisis looms within days, as funding for the Department of Homeland Security will only last until February 13, while Trump is negotiating with Democrats over his proposed new restrictions on immigration enforcement agencies. Funding for other federal departments will continue until September 30, the end of the fiscal year.

A group of conservative House members had threatened to use procedural tactics to block the agreement, but conceded after Trump asked them to vote on the measure. “The president made the final decision,” House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole, a Republican from Oklahoma, told reporters. “I’m glad we were all nails and only had one hammer.” The shutdown controversy erupted after U.S. citizen Alex Pretti died last month in Minneapolis in a confrontation with Border Patrol officers. Democrats refused to provide full-year funding to the Department of Homeland Security unless new restrictions were imposed on immigration enforcement. The spending bill passed the Senate last week, before the shutdown began on Saturday, and passed the House on Tuesday. Some conservatives opposed the bill because they wanted to include provisions to amend election laws, which would have otherwise caused it to fail in the Senate. Several conservatives also argued that the bill should not be approved because it included spending increases and Democratic-backed "spoils" programs. Many Democrats voted against it because the bill, while providing funding for the Department of Homeland Security until February 13, did not impose new restrictions on immigration enforcement officials. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and his deputies voted against the agreement negotiated by Senate colleague Chuck Schumer. Angie Craig, a Democrat from Minnesota running for a Senate seat in the state, said before the vote, “I’m not going to vote for anything unless they really start working on curbing the Minnesota (immigration) surge.” The agreement reached between Trump and Schumer aims to provide temporary funding for the department while both parties negotiate changes to enforcement policies. Democrats are demanding that immigration enforcement officials waive the requirement to wear masks, wear body cameras, and obtain authorization before entering private residences. They are also calling for a halt to immigration raids. In a social media post on Monday, Trump pleaded with House Republicans to pass the spending bill “immediately” and “without any changes.” Shortly afterward, two staunch conservative opponents—Anna Paulina Luna of Florida and Tim Burchett of Tennessee—said they agreed to end their previously threatened procedural obstruction after speaking with the White House, despite lingering doubts about the bill itself. "I don't understand why we should accept this agreement. There's a lot of Democratic-specific funding in the bill," said Republican Representative Eric Burlison of Missouri. Although the immediate funding disruption has been limited, the effects of the shutdown are already building. The Labor Department announced Monday that the closely watched non-farm payroll report, originally scheduled for Friday, would be postponed. The tax season, which began last week, may be hampered. Non-essential government workers in several departments have been furloughed without pay.