President Trump signs bill ending partial government shutdown

U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday (3 February) signed a spending deal into law that ends a partial U.S. government shutdown and gives lawmakers time to negotiate potential limits on his immigration crackdown.

The legislation restores lapsed funding for defence, healthcare, labour, education, housing and other agencies, and temporarily extends funding for the Department of Homeland Security until 13 February.

Funding for those agencies expired on Saturday as Congress did not act in time to avert a shutdown, which has not resulted in major disruptions for government services so far.

Trump negotiated the spending deal last week with Senate Democrats, who are demanding new restraints on Trump's aggressive immigration enforcement tactics following the killing of two U.S. citizens by federal agents in Minneapolis last month.

Trump's administration is already deploying body cameras on immigration agents in Minnesota, partially acceding to one of the Democrats' demands. Other Democratic proposals will face more resistance.

The deal passed the Senate by a wide bipartisan margin last week and narrowly passed the House of Representatives earlier on Tuesday by a vote of 217-214.

The last shutdown lasted a record 43 days in October and November, furloughing hundreds of thousands of federal workers and costing the U.S. economy an estimated $11 billion.

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