The U.S. Senate voted on Friday to end a partial government shutdown that has snarled airports across the country, though it did not resolve a dispute over immigration enforcement that prompted the six-week standoff in the first place.
The legislation would restore funding for most of the Department of Homeland Security, including airport security screeners, disaster-response workers and members of the U.S. Coast Guard, who have worked without pay since mid-February. However, it does not include new limits on DHS agents carrying out President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown – a key demand of Democrats.
The Republican-controlled House of Representatives must also pass the bill before Trump can sign it into law. A vote was expected on Friday.
The shutdown has led to long lines at many U.S. airports as many security officers who have gone without pay have called in sick or resigned.
Airports in Houston and Atlanta told passengers to expect wait times of up to four hours at checkpoints on Friday, though other major airports reported shorter lines.
Democrats blocked DHS funding after federal agents shot and killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis, using what little leverage they have in Washington to try to impose restraints on an immigration-enforcement push that has deported thousands of people and created chaos in U.S. cities.
The partial government shutdown did not affect that activity, as the two agencies responsible for carrying it out, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, were able to draw on separate funding.
The compromise legislation, which passed the Senate unanimously at about 2:30 a.m. ET, includes none of the curbs Democrats sought, but also does not include funding for immigration enforcement. Republicans are expected to try to secure funding on their own through a cumbersome procedure that would allow them to bypass Democratic opposition.
“Democrats held firm in our opposition that Donald Trump’s rogue and deadly militia should not get more funding without serious reforms,” Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement.
Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine said Democrats had damaged Congress’ annual funding process, weakened national security, and set a precedent that they may come to regret.
“Democrats remained intransigent and unreasonable with their list of demands,” she said in a statement.
Reporting by Richard Cowan and Nolan D. McCaskill in Washington, and Anusha Shah and Shivani Tanna in Bengaluru; Editing by Andy Sullivan, Chizu Nomiyama and Daniel Wallis, Reuters
