House ends shutdown with a fragile funding deal

After days of disruption and mounting pressure, the US House of Representatives has passed a $1.2 trillion spending package to bring a partial government shutdown to an end. The bill scraped through on Tuesday with a narrow 217–214 vote in the Republican-controlled chamber, underscoring just how brittle the deal remains.

The legislation restores funding for a range of federal programmes, including those run by the Departments of Labor and Education, and now heads to President Donald Trump’s desk for his signature. Despite being billed as bipartisan, the vote exposed deep divisions: 21 Republicans broke with their party to oppose the bill, while 21 Democrats crossed the aisle to support it.

Immigration was the fault line that nearly derailed the agreement. The package temporarily extends funding for the Department of Homeland Security, but only for two weeks, through February 13. That short runway leaves space for renewed negotiations over immigration enforcement, an issue that has become politically explosive after federal agents killed two US citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, last month.

Beyond DHS, Congress managed to wrap up 11 of its annual appropriations bills, securing funding for most government agencies through September 30. But the decision to treat homeland security separately highlights how unresolved and volatile the immigration debate has become.

Democrats used the vote to sharpen their demands. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said his party would push for “substantial reform” at DHS, laying out a list of conditions for any longer-term deal. These include a ban on agents wearing masks, a requirement for judicial warrants, independent investigations when agents break the law, mandatory body cameras, stricter use-of-force rules, and an end to enforcement actions at sensitive locations such as schools, hospitals, and places of worship.

Republican leaders struck a more cautious tone. Speaker Mike Johnson said he expects both sides to reach an agreement before the two-week deadline expires.

“This is no time to play games with that funding,” he said, adding that negotiations would continue and that “the president, again, has reached out.”

Some conservatives had tried to amend the bill to tighten voting requirements, another reminder of the internal pressures facing House Republicans. With a razor-thin 218–214 majority, party leaders can afford to lose almost no votes if Democrats stay unified.