00:00The very brief partial government shutdown is now officially over. The House narrowly passed a $1.2
00:06trillion funding deal to end the four-day shutdown and President Trump promptly signed it. What that
00:12means in practice is that the vast majority of the government can now keep the lights on until
00:17September, with the exception of the Department of Homeland Security. The deal that passed on
00:22Tuesday includes an extension of their budget only until February 13th, which is next Friday.
00:28Now, this isn't a case of Congress just kicking the can down the road as they are known to do from
00:33time to time. The extension is designed to give both parties time to hash out an agreement on
00:38reforms to immigration enforcement without making the rest of the government suffer while that
00:43happens. Democrats want things like a ban on ICE agents wearing masks and a requirement that they
00:48obtain judicial warrants before taking people into custody. Unfortunately, the week and a half grace
00:54period might not matter. Senate Majority Leader John Thune called finding such an agreement by the
00:59deadline a, quote, impossibility. So we'll have to see. And the clock is officially ticking.
Comments