SARAH MCCAMMON, HOST:
Parts of the federal government shut down this weekend after Congress failed to fully fund them. Some of the country's largest agencies, like the Pentagon and Departments of Transportation, State and Education, now have a lapse in funding. On Friday, the Senate advanced a massive bill that would reopen these agencies. That bill now heads to the House, where Speaker Mike Johnson says it will pass this week. But competing political factions could prolong this partial government shutdown. Here with the latest is NPR's Luke Garrett. Hi, Luke.
LUKE GARRETT, BYLINE: Hey, Sarah.
MCCAMMON: So how does this partial shutdown compare to last year's shutdown that many people will remember dragged on for quite some time?
GARRETT: That's right. So the last one threw the entire federal government into that funding lapse. Every agency and department had to stop all nonessential operations, furlough employees, and they couldn't even pay essential employees, like soldiers and air traffic controllers. On top of that, last year's full shutdown went on for 43 days, the longest in U.S. history. Now we're in a partial government shutdown, and there are two big differences. First, only some federal agencies will have to stop that nonessential work.
The second is the political cause for this shutdown is different. Last time, it was health care subsidies, and Republicans and Democrats didn't negotiate for weeks. Now the issue is reforms to the Department of Homeland Security after its agents shot and killed two U.S. citizens in Minnesota. This weekend, lawmakers, you know, were actively negotiating and seem to be working towards fully reopening the government. Speaker Mike Johnson told Fox News, they can do it this week.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "FOX NEWS SUNDAY")
MIKE JOHNSON: We'll get all this done by Tuesday. I'm convinced.
MCCAMMON: OK. So what are the key sticking points in these negotiations, Luke?
GARRETT: So last week, Senate Democrats and President Trump struck a deal on government funding package. The deal funds government agencies through September, but it only funds DHS for two weeks. The idea is a short-term funding, you know, will force changes to DHS. This got through the Senate but now goes to the House where some Republicans and Democrats aren't satisfied. On the right, some members don't want any DHS reforms. These Republicans also want to include election integrity legislation that requires proof of citizenship. On the left, some members don't even, you know, support that two-week funding of DHS.
MCCAMMON: OK. So those two positions sound pretty far apart. Why does Speaker Johnson say he thinks the House will pass the Senate bill and reopen the government?
GARRETT: In short, Trump - Speaker Johnson said the president negotiated this Senate funding package. This deal is Trump's deal. Johnson went on to say Trump himself does support some changes to DHS.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "FOX NEWS SUNDAY")
JOHNSON: He himself has already acknowledged to Leader Schumer in the Senate, and I'm sure he'll say the same to House Democrats, that some of the reforms and the processes are fine with them. For example, we want body cameras on Immigration Customs Enforcement agents.
GARRETT: But Sarah, Johnson made clear he and Trump won't budge on the issue of DHS agents hiding their identities with masks, citing officer safety. And this doesn't go over well with Democratic Majority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. On ABC News, you know, Jeffries gave his list of DHS demands.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THIS WEEK WITH GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS")
HAKEEM JEFFRIES: Masks should come off. Judicial warrants should absolutely be required, consistent with the Constitution in our view, before DHS agents or ICE agents are breaking into the homes of the American people or ripping people out of their cars. We need to make sure that there are complete and independent investigations.
GARRETT: Now, to be clear, Speaker Johnson doesn't necessarily need support from Democrats. He only needs a simple majority to pass the Senate funding package to reopen the government. Johnson does have a slim majority in the House. They return Monday.
MCCAMMON: In the meantime, what does all this mean for the federal agencies and their workers who are without funding?
GARRETT: So Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought told affected federal workers Friday to report to work for, quote, "their next regularly scheduled tour of duty to undertake orderly shutdown activities," end quote. So many of these federal workers will be in the office tomorrow preparing for a shutdown. But Vought also said in his letter to federal workers that he hopes the shutdown will be short, citing the administration's work with Congress. The shorter the partial shutdown, the less it will impact federal workers and Americans. A big deadline for house lawmakers will be reopening the entire government before those first paychecks are due for those key federal workers, like air traffic controllers and soldiers.
MCCAMMON: That's NPR's Luke Garrett. Thanks so much.
GARRETT: You bet. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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