The U.S. government partially shut down over the weekend, as part of a continuing clash over the Trump administration’s immigration policies after federal agents killed two American citizens in Minnesota.
The Senate on Friday passed legislation to fund much of the government and keep the Department of Homeland Security running for two weeks while Republicans negotiated with Democrats on new limits they were demanding on federal immigration agents.
But the agreement did not come together in time to avert a lapse in funding on Saturday morning, and its fate was uncertain in the House, which still must clear the measure and send it to President Trump’s desk to fully reopen the government.
House Republican leaders, who have a minuscule majority and many rank-and-file members opposed to the deal, do not plan to bring it up before Tuesday. Still, Mr. Trump has endorsed the agreement, putting pressure on his own party to embrace it.
The current shutdown is much more limited in scope than last year’s 43-day closure, when hundreds of thousands of federal employees were furloughed and many others worked without pay.
Here’s what to know about the partial shutdown:
Why have parts of the government shut down?
The previous government shutdown ended in November with a measure to fund the federal government at the same spending levels through Jan. 30. In the meantime, members of Congress negotiated and began passing the spending bills for the remainder of the 2026 fiscal year, which ends on Sept. 30.
Then came the unrest in Minnesota, where the Trump administration launched a wide-ranging immigration crackdown led by the Department of Homeland Security. In January, federal agents shot and killed two unarmed U.S. citizens — Renee Good and Alex Pretti — in Minneapolis, prompting public outrage.
In response, Democrats in Congress blocked the broader spending package — which included $64.4 billion for D.H.S. — saying they would not hand any more funding to the department without substantial reforms.
They demanded that the homeland security funding be removed from the rest of the deal while they worked out a separate compromise with Mr. Trump and Republicans for restrictions on the administration’s immigration crackdown.
By Friday, a deal had been reached. The Senate passed a bipartisan spending package to fund most of the government and keep D.H.S. running for two weeks while Democrats and Mr. Trump continue to negotiate.
But the House could not pass the compromise deal before a lapse in federal funding over started on Saturday morning.
Which departments are affected?
This shutdown — even if it lasts longer than Tuesday — will be less sweeping in its impact than the last one, which led to the mass furloughing of government employees and ensnared funding for welfare programs.
This time, lawmakers have agreed on much of the funding for next year, meaning that fewer departments will be affected. Funds for some key benefits like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — widely known as food stamps — have already been appropriated.
But the package that has been held up funds a broad swath of the government. The Department of Homeland Security includes the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Transportation Security Administration. Also on hold is $838.7 billion in defense spending, as well as money for the departments of Labor, Education, Health and Human Services, Transportation and State.
When will the partial shutdown end?
Speaker Mike Johnson told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday that he was confident the House would pass the spending package “at least by Tuesday.” Republican leaders issued a schedule on Monday morning that indicated the package would not receive a vote before then, and left the precise timing uncertain.
The House Rules Committee was expected to meet on Monday afternoon to tee up the vote.
Mr. Trump has appeared eager to avoid another lengthy shutdown and instructed Republicans to back the deal. But it is fragile and could still fall apart. Many in his party are livid at the notion of making concessions to Democrats on immigration enforcement, and unhappy with the broader spending package, the product of bipartisan negotiations that rejects many of the deepest cuts that the G.O.P. wanted.
At the same time, many House Democrats do not want to vote for a package that includes any homeland security money — even one that keeps spending flat for two weeks and holds out the possibility of new restrictions on ICE tactics.
Could another shutdown be ahead?
Senator Chuck Schumer, the New York Democrat and minority leader, said in an interview with The New York Times that Mr. Trump called him last week to negotiate a way forward to avoid yet another government shutdown.
“He says, ‘Chuck, I hate shutdowns. I don’t like shutdowns. We’ve got to stop them,’” Mr. Schumer said as he recalled his conversation with Mr. Trump. “And I said, ‘Well, Mr. President, the thing you have to do is rein in ICE.’”
If the legislation passes as expected, it will fund the bulk of the government through Sept. 30. But the Department of Homeland Security will have just two weeks of funding, lasting until Feb. 13. Democrats are demanding guardrails on its immigration operations — including unmasking federal agents, ending indiscriminate sweeps and requiring warrants for stops and arrests — in exchange for funding it for the rest of the year.
Negotiations over those limits promise to be thorny. Many Republicans are vehemently opposed to reining in ICE. If no deal can be reached and Democrats stick to their demands, the Department of Homeland Security could shut down starting on Feb. 14.
Aaron Boxerman is a Times reporter covering Israel and Gaza. He is based in Jerusalem.
The post Here’s What to Know About the Partial Government Shutdown appeared first on New York Times.
