Audio By Carbonatix
US President Donald Trump has signed a $1.2tn (£880bn) budget to end a partial government shutdown that began on Saturday.
The deal passed the US House of Representatives in a 217-214 vote earlier in the day. The package cleared the Senate last Friday.
The measure funds most government agencies until the end of the fiscal year in September. But the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will be funded only until the end of next week.
Lawmakers are expected to negotiate Democratic calls for DHS reforms after federal immigration agents fatally shot two US citizens in Minneapolis last month.
Democrats are demanding restrictions on federal law enforcement, particularly Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), an agency within DHS.
DHS funding is due to lapse on 13 February without a new agreement.
"This bill is a great victory for the American people," Trump said as he signed the budget in the Oval Office on Tuesday afternoon.
DHS funding is the most fraught component of the package - lawmakers, even within each of the parties, do not agree on the best way to move forward.
The DHS encompasses multiple subsidiary agencies, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the Coast Guard and Secret Service.
Democrats want changes to DHS immigration enforcement operations, including requirements that agents record on body cameras and not wear masks to conceal their faces.
They have also demanded changes in funding to DHS in light of the fatal shootings in Minneapolis of Alex Pretti and Renee Good, and have advocated for changes to protocol.
Both chambers of the US Congress – the House and Senate – must vote to approve legislation before it can be signed into law by the president.
Senators had agreed to a package of five spending bills, but stripped out a sixth bill funding DHS.
The Senate instead approved enough money to keep DHS running for two weeks while lawmakers work out disputes over its long-term budget.
That is the same agreement the House passed on Tuesday.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune had said he was concerned about the two-week timing in part because members of the Republican conference remain in "very different places".
"Once we start, we have a very short timeframe in which to do this, which I lobbied against, but the Democrats insisted on a two-week window," Thune said.
"I don't understand the rationale for that. Anybody who knows this place knows that's an impossibility."
The limited shutdown affected numerous government services, forcing thousands of Federal Aviation Administration and air traffic control workers to either stay home on furlough or work without pay.
It will also delay the Bureau of Labor Statistics' monthly job's report. The report is used by political leaders, investors and everyday Americans to understand how the economy is faring.
Latest Stories
-
Sahara Group commissions 40,000cbm Asharami Ghana LPG vessel to advance clean energy access in Ghana
2 minutes -
Ghana’s Ambassador to Côte d’Ivoire marks 69th independence day with call to ‘build prosperity and restore hope’
4 minutes -
COCOBOD to distribute 27,000 sprayers and 89,000 PPE sets to cocoa farmers
13 minutes -
Ntim Fordjour accuses NDC of ‘double standards’ over presidential travel
19 minutes -
Israel–Iran war shakes global insurance industry; Ghana may face heavy impact – Dr Kingsley Agyemang
21 minutes -
DJ Mensah calls for national support for Rapperholic UK as Sarkodie eyes O2 Arena
24 minutes -
COCOBOD disburses GH¢4.2bn to Licensed Buying Companies to settle cocoa farmers’ arrears
26 minutes -
Rebecca Ekpe launches mentorship programme for young journalists and digital creators
27 minutes -
Home Support: How we can use Ghanaians living in the diaspora to form supporter groups for the 2026 World Cup and save millions
34 minutes -
NPP communicator, Senyo Amekplenu seeks audit service expenditure details under RTI
40 minutes -
British man charged in Dubai for alleged filming of Iranian missiles
42 minutes -
The mirage of president’s special initiatives – Mahama’s “Legacy Projects”, or another monuments of waste?
44 minutes -
British man charged in Dubai for alleged filming of Iranian missiles
45 minutes -
The digital mirage and Cedi’s grave: Unmasking one million coders facade
1 hour -
Northshore Apparel Ghana Ltd partners with Coats Digital to launch regenerative apparel manufacturing hub
1 hour
