
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
-
Carlos Queiroz could join CAF review after Ghana’s World Cup campaign
6 minutes -
Mahama, WHO chief call for stronger pharmaceutical production to reduce Africa’s health dependence
8 minutes -
Fondation Ahobah feeds more than 200 children, donates supplies to Kasoa orphanage
10 minutes -
Sammy Crabbe urges NPP unity as Chairman Wontumi faces 20-year jail term
24 minutes -
Asante Kotoko set title target for Tinkler ahead of new GPL season
26 minutes -
Godfred Dame argues Hanan Abdul-Wahab’s Buffer Stock charge sheet is defective, seeks dismissal
29 minutes -
Ghana’s fiscal space remains limited despite economic gains – IERPP
36 minutes -
WAFCON 2026: Winner to receive record $2 million prize money
40 minutes -
OpenAI says its AI went rogue and launched ‘unprecedented’ cyber-attack
44 minutes -
Most bus fares in England to be capped at £2 from January
46 minutes -
Jeffrey Epstein-linked modelling scout Daniel Siad found dead in France
49 minutes -
NDC branch organiser granted GH¢200,000 bail over alleged false claims about Bawumia
1 hour -
NPA CEO monitors 24-hour economy pilot at Tema petroleum depots
1 hour -
WAFCON 2026: Cameroon target redemption as Indomitable Lionesses chase continental glory
1 hour -
NSS investigating GH¢60 allowance deductions as refund decision awaits probe outcome
1 hour