House and Senate leaders aim to vote by the Friday deadline on a seven-bill spending package that includes a $1.375 billion in funding for 55 miles of fencing along the U.S. border with Mexico.
House and Senate lawmakers formally kick off negotiations today. They are facing a Feb. 15 deadline to come up with a spending bill the president will sign to avoid another shutdown.
Twenty-two accidents, including 15 plane crashes, weren't investigated during the partial government shutdown. Instead of visiting the site of the crash, examiners might just examine stored wreckage.
While the reopening of the government is welcome news for many federal workers, some express trepidation that they'll face the same predicament after Feb. 15.
President Trump was outmaneuvered by Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and did damage with key constituencies. Meanwhile, Americans may be more aware of what government does.
About 400,000 federal workers are called "excepted" and are required to work without pay. They sued for an injunction that would end that requirement, but the judge said no.
An NPR/Ipsos Poll finds more than 70 percent of Americans say the shutdown is embarrassing for the country, will hurt the economy and the government should remain open while budget talks continue.
For all the formality of an Oval Office address, the partial shutdown is no closer to being over, and Democrats and Republicans are living in very different worlds when it comes to immigration policy.
Friday's meeting comes as the partial government shutdown hits the two-week mark. On Thursday, the House passed two funding bills, but President Trump threatened to veto them.
The Senate will take up the House-passed funding bill with money for a border wall, but Democrats who oppose the $5 billion the president demanded are expected to block it.
A bipartisan spending deal postpones a fight over money for a border wall before the election. The bill funds about 75 percent of the government, with a stopgap measure for the rest through Dec. 7.
If voters punished Republicans over the last shutdown, it was by giving them the Senate majority. Since then, a blinding news cycle had made each crisis only more forgettable than the last.
If Congress doesn't fund the Department of Homeland Security this week, most DHS employees will likely be ordered to stay on the job — and make do without a paycheck until funding is restored.
As Senate Majority leader, Sen. Harry Reid has been at the center of negotiations to avert a budget shutdown. The crisis was only resolved at the eleventh hour on Friday night. We discuss the role Sen. Reid played in those negotiations and what is likely to happen in the coming weeks as the Congress grapples with a new budget and raising the nation's debt, which will have to be done by May.
Federal officials are preparing for a government shutdown if Capitol Hill doesn't reach a budget agreement. National parks and museums would close, and employees would be put on furlough.
