Government funding

NPR - A massive portion of the federal government has ground to a halt after Congress missed Friday’s deadline to fund the government. Senate Democrats triggered the partial shutdown by demanding immigration enforcement reforms as a condition for funding the Department of Homeland Security. Employees at other key agencies, such as the Pentagon and the Department of Transportation, are currently either furloughed or working without pay. The White House and lawmakers say the shutdown will be short-lived.

The Senate has advanced a funding package to reopen the government, but the deal keeps DHS on a short leash with only two weeks of funding, NPR’s Luke Garrett tells Up First. The timed funding is meant to force lawmakers to negotiate over department policy. The deal faces some sticking points in the House. Some Republicans don’t want any reforms to DHS, and they want to include election integrity legislation, which could send the bill back to the Senate. Some House Democrats don’t want to support even a short period of DHS funding.