WASHINGTON — Rep. Jefferson Shreve, R-Ind., and Rep. Erin Houchin, R-Ind., voted in favor of legislation on Tuesday that ended a brief partial federal government shutdown and set the stage for a contentious fight over funding for the Department of Homeland Security.
President Donald Trump moved quickly to sign the roughly $1.2 trillion government funding bill on Tuesday after the House approved it in a 217-214 vote.
Rep. Victoria Spartz, R-Ind., was the only Republican from Indiana who voted against the bill. Indiana’s two Democratic congressmen, Reps. André Carson and Frank Mrvan, also voted against the measure.
The vote Tuesday wrapped up congressional work on 11 annual appropriations bills that fund government agencies and programs through Sept. 30, The Associated Press reported.
Passage of the legislation marked the end point for one funding fight, but the start of another. That’s because the package only funds the Department of Homeland Security for two weeks, through Feb 13, at the behest of Democrats who are demanding more restrictions on immigration enforcement after the shooting deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good by federal officers in Minneapolis.
Difficult negotiations are ahead, particularly for the agency that enforces the nation’s immigration laws — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, according to wire reports.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries quickly warned Democrats would not support any further temporary funding for Homeland Security without substantial changes to its immigration operations., raising the potential of another shutdown for the department and its agencies.
“We need dramatic change in order to make sure that ICE and other agencies within the department of Homeland Security are conducting themselves like every other law enforcement organization in the country,” Jeffries said.
Speaker Mike Johnson said he expects the two sides will be able to reach an agreement by the deadline, according to wire reports.
“This is no time to play games with that funding. We hope that they will operate in good faith over the next 10 days as we negotiate this,” said Johnson. “The president, again, has reached out.”
But Johnson’s counterpart across the Capitol, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., sounded less optimistic of a deal. “There’s always miracles, right?” Thune told reporters.
— The Associated Press contributed to this report.
