Trump urges House to vote quickly to end the partial government shutdown
[February 03, 2026]
By LISA MASCARO
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump implored the House on Monday to
end the partial government shutdown, but neither Republicans nor
Democrats appeared ready to quickly approve the federal funding package
he brokered with the Senate without first debating their own demands
over immigration enforcement operations.
Democrats are refusing to provide the votes House Speaker Mike Johnson
needs to push the package forward as they try to rein in the Trump
administration's deportation operations after the shooting deaths of two
Americans in Minneapolis. That's forcing Johnson to rely on his slim GOP
majority, which has its own complaints about the package, to fall in
line behind Trump's deal with Senate Democrats.
Voting is expected to begin as soon as Tuesday, which would be day four
of the partial shutdown. The Pentagon, Homeland Security and other
agencies saw their funding lapse Saturday. And while many operations at
those departments are deemed essential, and still functioning, some
workers may go without pay or be furloughed.
“We need to get the Government open, and I hope all Republicans and
Democrats will join me in supporting this Bill, and send it to my desk
WITHOUT DELAY,” the president wrote on social media.
“There can be NO CHANGES at this time," Trump insisted. "We will work
together in good faith to address the issues that have been raised, but
we cannot have another long, pointless, and destructive Shutdown.”
The stalemate points to difficult days ahead as Johnson relies on Trump
to help muscle the package to passage.
The president struck a deal last week with Senate Democratic Leader
Chuck Schumer in which Homeland Security would only be funded
temporarily, though Feb. 13, as Congress debates changes to immigration
enforcement operations. The Senate overwhelmingly approved the package
with the rest of the government funding ahead of Saturday's deadline.
Democrats demand changes to ICE
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries made it clear Monday that his
side sees no reason to help Johnson push the bill forward in a
procedural step, something that the majority party typically handles on
its own.
With Johnson facing unrest from his own Republican ranks, Jeffries is
seizing the leverage it provides Democrats to demand changes to
immigration operations.
“On rare occasions have we stepped in to deal with Republican
dysfunction,” Jeffries said at the Capitol.
Democrats are demanding restraints on Immigration and Customs
Enforcement that go beyond $20 million for body cameras that already is
in the bill. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced Monday
that officers on the ground in Minneapolis, including ICE, will be
immediately issued body-worn cameras, and the program would be expanded
nationwide as funding is available.
But Democrats are pressing for more. They want to require that federal
immigration agents unmask — noting that few, if any, other law
enforcement agencies routinely mask themselves in the U.S. — and they
want officers to rely on judicial, rather than administrative, warrants
in their operations.
They also want an end to roving patrols, amid other changes.
Jeffries said the administration needs to begin negotiations now, not
over the next two weeks, on changes to immigration enforcement
operations.
Certain Democrats, however, are splintering with the leader, and pushing
for quicker passage of the funding package to avoid government
disruptions.
Republicans launch their own demands
At the same time, House Republicans, with some allies in the Senate, are
making their own demands, as they work to support Trump's clampdown on
immigrants in the U.S.
The House Freedom Caucus has insisted on fuller funding for Homeland
Security while certain Republicans pushed to include the SAVE Act, a
longshot Trump priority that would require proof of citizenship before
Americans are eligible to participate in elections and vote. Critics say
it would disenfranchise millions of voters.
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President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House,
Monday, Feb. 2, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Late Monday, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., dropped her demand to
attach the voting bill to the funding package after she and Rep. Tim
Burchett, R-Tenn., met with Trump at the White House. She posted
afterward that it would be better to try to advance that bill
separately through the Senate, and keep the government open.
The development was seen as helping Johnson push ahead.
“Obviously the president really wants this,” Majority Leader Steve
Scalise said at the Capitol.
“We always work 'til the midnight hour to get the votes," Scalise
said. "You never start the process with everybody on board. You work
through it."
Workers without pay if partial government shutdown drags on
Meanwhile, a number of federal agencies are snared in the funding
standoff after the government went into a partial shutdown over the
weekend.
Defense, health, transportation and housing are among those that
were given shutdown guidance by the administration, though many
operations are deemed essential and services are not necessarily
interrupted. Workers could go without pay if the impasse drags on.
Some could be furloughed.
Lawmakers from both parties are increasingly concerned the closure
will disrupt the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which they
rely on to help constituents after deadly snowstorms and other
disasters.
This is the second time in a matter of months that federal
government operations have been disrupted as lawmakers use the
annual funding process as leverage to extract policy changes. Last
fall, Democrats sparked what became the longest federal shutdown in
history, 43 days, as they protested the expiration of health
insurance tax breaks.
That shutdown ended with a promise to vote on proposals to extend
the Affordable Care Act tax credits. But with GOP opposition,
Democrats were unable to achieve their goal of keeping the subsidies
in place. Insurance premiums spiked in the new year for millions of
people.
Trump tries to prevent another long shutdown
Trump is already working on an immigration deal to ensure the
shutdown doesn't drag on.
Johnson said he was in the Oval Office last week when Trump, along
with border czar Tom Homan, spoke with Schumer of New York as they
discussed the immigration changes.
Body cameras, which are already provided for in the package, and an
end to the roving patrols by immigration agents are areas of
potential agreement, Johnson said.
But Johnson drew a line at other Democratic demands. He said he does
not think that requiring immigration officers to remove their masks
would have support from Republicans because it could lead to
problems if their personal images and private information is posted
online by protesters.
And Senate Majority Leader John Thune tapped the brakes on the
demand from Democrats to require judicial warrants for officers'
searches, saying it's likely to be a part of the negotiations ahead.
“It’s going to be very difficult to reach agreement in two weeks,”
Thune said at the Capitol.
Democrats, however, said the immigration operations are out of
control, and must end in Minneapolis and other cities.
Growing numbers of lawmakers are also calling for Noem to be fired
or impeached.
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Associated Press writers Kevin Freking, Matt Brown and Nathan
Ellgren contributed to this report.
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