Despite a last-minute budget agreement, the US government partially shuts down

The US federal government has partially shutdown despite a last-ditch funding deal approved by the Senate.The funding lapse began at midnight US eastern time (05:00 GMT) on Saturday, hours after senators agreed to fund most agencies until September. The bill includes just two weeks’ funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees immigration enforcement, instead of shutting it down entirely.

The bill has yet to be approved by the House of Representatives, which is out of session.US President Donald Trump struck the deal with Democrats after they refused to give more funding for immigration enforcement following the fatal shooting of two US citizens in Minneapolis by federal agents.

Just 11 weeks have passed since the previous funding deadlock, which lasted 43 days—the longest in US history—ended. This is the second such government shutdown in the last year.
Hundreds of thousands of federal employees were unpaid for weeks during the 2025 closure, which took place from October 1 to November 14 and had a significant impact on vital government functions, including air travel.

However, since the House of Representatives is scheduled to reconvene on Monday, this shutdown is unlikely to be that extensive or prolonged.  However, the White House has ordered a number of agencies, including the defense, education, and transportation departments, to carry out shutdown plans. “Employees should report to work for their next regularly scheduled tour of duty to undertake orderly shutdown activities,” a White House memo to agencies said. “It is our hope that this lapse will be short.”

The two weeks that the DHS will continue to get funding will be used by lawmakers to work out an agreement. Democrats want new rules for immigration enforcement officers to be part of that agreement. Following Alex Pretti’s tragic shooting in Minneapolis this weekend, immigration officials’ practices have drawn harsh criticism from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers.

After an incident during which multiple agents attempted to restrain Pretti, an intensive care nurse, he was shot by a US Border Patrol agent. The Justice Department opened a civil rights inquiry into the shooting on Friday.