President Donald Trump signs a government funding bill in the Oval Office of the White House on February 3, 2026. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON — The partial government shutdown that began this weekend ended Tuesday when President Donald Trump signed the funding package that both houses of Congress approved last week.
“We succeeded in passing a fiscally sensible package that actually cuts wasteful federal spending while supporting critical programs for the safety, security and prosperity of the American people,” Trump said in the Oval Office.
The house voted 217 to 214 earlier in the day to release the package to Trump after a tumultuous few weeks on Capitol Hill after it stalled in the Senate. Democrats called for additional restrictions on immigration enforcement in response to the shooting of a second U.S. citizen in Minneapolis.
Trump and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., agreed last week to withdraw the full-year Department of Homeland Security budget proposal and replace it with a two-week stopgap measure.
This is intended to give leaders in Congress and the administration some time to find consensus on changes to how immigration officials work.
Trump did not say whether he agreed with any of the Democrats’ proposed immigration control changes.
“I haven’t even thought about it,” Trump said.
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said during a morning news conference that he wants the negotiations to target local and state governments that are not cooperating with federal immigration control efforts, often referred to as “sanctuary cities.”
“What needs to be part of this discussion is the participation of blue cities in federal immigration enforcement,” he said. “You can’t go to a sanctuary city and act like the law doesn’t apply there. It does, and that’s why we’re going to work through all of this.”
Debate over administrative orders
Johnson said Republican lawmakers disagree with requiring federal immigration agents to obtain warrants to arrest people, one of them The Democrats have put forward several proposals.
“We will never agree to the introduction of a completely new level of judicial orders because it is unworkable,” he said. “It cannot be done and it should not be done and it is not necessary.”
Johnson, a constitutional lawyer, said these administrative warrants provide “sufficient legal authority to arrest someone.”
Asked whether such a search warrant is enough to enter a person’s home without violating the Fourth Amendment, Johnson said a “controversy” has broken out over what immigration agents should do if someone they are trying to arrest enters a private residence.
“What’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement supposed to do at this point? ‘Oh man, they locked the door. I guess we’ll just move on.’ So there is some logic and reason that needs to be applied here,” Johnson said. “Some have complained that the violence was too high or whatever. I don’t know. We’ll find out. That’s part of the discussion in the next few weeks.”
Johnson said GOP negotiators would also ensure Congress maintains “key parameters” on immigration law and enforcement.
“We cannot go down the path of amnesty, you cannot ease the enforcement requirements of federal immigration law in any way,” he said. “This is what the American people demand and deserve.”
Senators “ready to work”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said during an afternoon news conference that Alabama Sen. Katie Britt, chairwoman of the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, would lead negotiations for Republicans in that chamber.
“Katie Britt will lead this on our side, but ultimately it will be a conversation between the president of the United States and the (Senate) Democrats,” said Thune, a South Dakota Republican.
During an afternoon press conference, Schumer said, “Thune needs to be part of these negotiations.”
Schumer said Democrats will lay out their proposals in detail to Republicans in the House, Senate and White House.
“If Leader Thune negotiates in good faith, we can get it done,” Schumer said of the Homeland Security funding bill.
Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., who serves as ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee, said Senate Democrats are “ready to work.”
“We have a proposal ready. We will begin implementing it no matter who they choose at the end of the day, and the White House needs to be involved,” Murray said.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said there are “quite a few” proposals.
“The House had to do what it had to do … which is great. And what we have to do now is figure out what that universe of reforms is that we can reach consensus on,” said Murkowski, who released a statement last week expressing her support for “sensible reforms” for ICE.
“Most Fundamental Duty” of Congress
Connecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, said during floor debate on the government spending package that passing the legislation was the best way to move into immigration enforcement negotiations.
“We will be in the best position possible to fight for and win the drastic changes we all know are needed to protect our communities – warrant requirements, no more detentions or deportations of U.S. citizens, an enforceable code of conduct, taking off the masks, putting on the badges, requiring the use of body cameras, real accountability for the egregious abuses we have seen,” she said.
House Budget Committee Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., said funding the government is “not an optional exercise, but the most fundamental job we have in Congress.”
“Shutdowns are never the solution, they don’t work,” he said. “They have only hurt the American people. Today, lawmakers in this chamber have an opportunity to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past.”
In addition to providing two more weeks of funding for the Department of Homeland Security, the $1.2 trillion spending package has full-year appropriations bills for the departments of Defense, Education, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Labor, State, Transportation, and Treasury. The Senate voted 71 to 29 on Friday evening to send the package to the house.
Congress had already approved half of the dozen annual budget proposals for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1.
