US government shuts down partially over homeland security funding

Source: The Guardian

Sat 31 Jan 2026 00.01 EST
Last modified on Sat 31 Jan 2026 00.03 EST


Funding lapsed for several US government departments on Saturday, the result of a standoff in Congress over new restrictions on federal agents involved in Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign following the killings of two US citizens in Minneapolis. The partial government shutdown is the result of Democratic senators refusing to vote for a bill authorizing continued spending by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), after federal agents killed Alex Pretti in Minnesota’s largest city last week, and Renee Good earlier in January.

The minority party’s blockade imperiled a push by Republicans for approval of larger package of legislation funding other departments, which needed to pass the Senate before the government’s spending authorization expired Friday. Democrats are demanding that the DHS funding bill be rewritten to include new restrictions on federal agents, following the killings of Good and Pretti, which came amid a surge of immigration agents Trump ordered into Minnesota’s largest city.

On Friday, the Senate passed a package of five measures to fund government departments through September, as well as a bill to continue DHS operations for two weeks. However the legislation must be approved by the House of Representatives, which is expected to convene on Monday.

The shutdown’s impact remains unclear, and is unlikely to be felt until at least Monday, the first business day when it will be in effect. Besides the homeland security department, Congress had not yet fully passed appropriations for the departments of defense, education, labor, health and human services, transportation and housing and urban development.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/31/us-government-shutdown-dhs-funding

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The federal government doesn't just operate Monday through Friday from 9 am - 5 pm, and is "closed on the weekend".

There are functions that run 24/7/365 and some of that IS going to be impacted over this weekend SHUT DOWN. There WILL BE people furloughed and there will be others who will be working without pay. HHS is one of the ones needing funding and that includes SSA & CMS, which might be forced to limit any call center activity as an example.

The media pounded on this false "narrative" that the Senate "would avert a shutdown" and THAT was a lie, and it DID NOT. During that last, long-duration shutdown, it was only "PARTIAL" then. So they are trying to manipulate what the definition of "partial" is. But what it DOES mean is that any contractors who work for agencies that were on the C.R. (and didn't have separate appropriations already approved, as Congress did do a few like DOD, and DOI, etc.), then those contractors will NOT get any back pay (even if what is left of the feds after the DOGEshit chainsaw massacre, do get back pay).