Lawmakers have until the end of Friday to keep the government fully open.
Democrats are taking a stand against President Trump’s immigration policies following the shooting death of Alex Preti by a federal immigration agent in Minneapolis.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, said in an interview that he was confident he had enough Republican votes to reopen the government next week amid a partial shutdown.
Speaking on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Johnson addressed the impasse in Congress that led to the suspension of parliament early Saturday morning. The government closed its doors after lawmakers failed to pass a spending package that included a controversial measure to fund the Department of Homeland Security.
When asked by host Kristen Welker on February 1 if Johnson was confident the government would reopen on Monday, the Republican leader cited “logistical challenges” that would prevent lawmakers from returning to the Capitol from their districts.
“Let’s say we’re confident we can get that done by at least Tuesday,” Johnson said.
Hours before the Friday, Jan. 30 deadline, the Senate passed a spending bill that would fund the currently closed government agencies through September. The measure would also extend spending for two weeks for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, while lawmakers negotiate over ICE reforms demanded by Democrats.
Now, the bill must be approved by the House of Representatives.
While he enjoys a slim majority in the House of Commons, lawmakers are experiencing weather-related travel difficulties for the second week. When the bill was introduced in the Senate last week, a massive snowstorm halted voting, further straining the schedule in the days leading up to the shutdown deadline.
Once Democratic Rep.-elect Christian Menefe wins and is sworn in in the runoff elections in Texas on Saturday, Jan. 31, the Republican Party’s advantage in the House will be even smaller than it has been in recent months. If the House votes along party lines, Johnson would lose just one Republican.
“We intend to have funding for all but one federal agency by Tuesday,” Johnson said of the Department of Homeland Security. “And we’re going to have two weeks of good faith negotiations to resolve it.”
Spending negotiations were thrown into turmoil last week after immigration authorities killed two Americans in Minneapolis in January.
The Jan. 24 shooting death of 37-year-old Alex Preti has infuriated many Democrats and some Republicans, and Senate Democrats have called for the DHS funding measure included in the larger package to be repealed and renegotiated, including more oversight.
Kathryn Palmer is USA TODAY’s political reporter. She can be reached at the following address: kapalmer@usatoday.com And with X@Kathryn Purml. Sign up for her daily politics newsletter here.
