Federal Government Shuts Down Today – What You Should Know

The United States government went into a partial shutdown today, Saturday Jan. 31, after lawmakers failed to secure funding for several federal agencies by the Friday midnight ET deadline.

This shutdown impacts six out of twelve appropriations bills for the fiscal year that runs until Sep. 30, 2026. The departments affected include Defense, Education, Labor, Health and Human Services, and Transportation.

Although senators managed to pass a spending package late on Friday, it still needs approval from the House of Representatives, which won’t meet until after the weekend.

When will the House vote to end shutdown?

House Speaker Mike Johnson mentioned on Thursday that “the earliest floor action we could have is Monday”. However, he expects only a “short shutdown situation”, adding: “the House is going to do its job”.

What is causing the current shutdown?

The shutdown came about after Democratic senators opposed a funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), following this month’s deaths of U. S. citizens Renée Good and Alex Pretti at the hands of federal immigration agents in Minneapolis.

Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer described the bill as “woefully inadequate to rein in the abuses of ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement]”.

Part of a group of six funding bills that had already passed in the House, this year-long DHS legislation has been taken out from the package to give lawmakers time to consider reforms related to immigration authorities’ operations.

“Over the next few days, Senate Democrats will be focused on negotiating real restraints to put an end to the chaos we’re seeing on our streets,” said Patty Murray, a Democratic senator from Washington, during a press conference on Friday.

Meanwhile, senators have passed a stopgap funding extension for DHS alongside five longer-term appropriations bills.

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