The White House has ordered the Department of Homeland Security to begin shutdown procedures as its congressional funding runs out at midnight — the third partial shutdown of the United States government in six months, Bloomberg reported.
The shutdown will affect Department of Homeland Security operations other than immigration and border enforcement, which are largely funded through multi-year funding included in tax-and-spend legislation passed by Congress last July, the report said.
Other roles deemed critical to national security will also remain active, with those employees required to continue working without pay.
While the shutdown formally goes into effect at midnight, DHS employees have been instructed to report to work and begin a “regular shutdown” on their next regularly scheduled shift — which for most employees will be the Tuesday after Monday’s observance of Presidents’ Day, according to Bloomberg.
The White House often issues shutdown memos as a form of political communication, and in Friday’s announcement, White House Budget Director Russ Vought blamed the funding shortfall on unreasonable demands from Democrats.
Funding for homeland security was stripped from a larger spending bill last week as lawmakers negotiated changes to immigration enforcement following protests and the fatal shooting of federal officers in Minnesota.
Vought specifically referred to President Donald Trump’s decision to end the operation — known as “Operation Metro Surge” — as a concession to Democrats in Congress.
“The administration will continue to seek, in good faith, bipartisan solutions to complete the appropriations process and prevent another damaging government shutdown,” Vought said, according to Bloomberg.
Congress, which must approve DHS funding, is on recess for a week.
Why does Homeland Security stop?
The situation essentially arose because Donald Trump acceded to a Democratic demand to strip homeland security funding from a broader spending bill, giving lawmakers more time to negotiate proposed changes to immigration enforcement — including a code of conduct for federal agents and a requirement that officers show identification, the Associated Press reported.
As a result, the Department of Homeland Security was receiving only short-term funding through Friday.
However, the rest of the federal government remains funded until September 30.
Therefore, most federal programs are not affected by the shutdown, including food assistance programs, and payments to most federal employees and service members will continue without interruption.
(With input from agencies)