Midnight Deadline: US Government Faces “Temporary Shutdown”
The US federal government is bracing for a temporary shutdown as Congress is expected to miss Friday's midnight deadline to pass a federal spending package through both chambers. In the Senate, a vote on the funding deal is said to be possible Friday, according to Republican aides. But the problem lies in the House: House Speaker Mike Johnson has stated that the House might not return to Washington until Monday, potentially leaving federal funding “holes” until the bill is passed.
This shutdown is expected to be partial—meaning not all agencies will be affected. If it ends early next week, the impact on overall government operations is expected to be limited. However, affected agencies will still undergo formal shutdown procedures, including the Departments of Treasury, Homeland Security (DHS), Transportation, Health & Human Services, and Labor. The administration says that if the House passes the funding bill by Monday morning, some agencies could reopen the same day.
If the shutdown does occur at midnight, it would be the second time Congress has failed to fund the government in President Donald Trump's second term. The public still remembers the last drama: a 43-day impasse that halted food aid for millions of households, canceled thousands of flights, and left federal workers without pay for more than a month. The difference this time is that many lawmakers expect the delay to be only a matter of days, so disruptions to travel, economic data releases, and federal employee payrolls are expected to be minimal.
Behind the scenes, this temporary agreement is also entrenched in a more sensitive issue: immigration enforcement. Trump and Senate Democrats reportedly reached a deal on Thursday to fund the government, but the White House is still negotiating with Democrats over new restrictions on immigration enforcement—which have sparked nationwide protests. Tensions escalated after a US citizen, Alex Pretti, was killed in a confrontation with Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis last weekend. Democrats have refused to extend DHS funding without new restrictions on immigration enforcement.
The bill being discussed in Congress would fund DHS for two weeks to allow for further negotiations, while other federal agencies receive funding through the end of September. However, the Senate stalled on Thursday night when Republican Senator Lindsey Graham announced he would block the bill. Under Senate rules, just one senator can delay the process for several days by refusing to "fast-track" passage.
Graham criticized the bill for removing a provision he said could expose him to multi-million dollar court rulings. The House of Representatives last week passed a repeal of a provision that would have allowed eight senators to sue the Justice Department over phone metadata seized in the “Arctic Frost” investigation (regarding alleged attempts to undermine the 2020 presidential election). Graham said he wanted to pursue legal action under the provision to uphold the separation of executive and legislative powers, while supporters of the repeal argued it was wasteful and gave an unfair advantage to senators under investigation.
A Republican aide in the Senate said Republicans would discuss Graham's delay during a meeting Friday afternoon and expected the Senate to hold a vote the same day. But the markets and the public understand: as long as the House hasn't returned and struck the gavel, the risk of a shutdown remains—at least until Monday. (alg)
Source: Newsmaker.id
