Early in the morning on Friday, lawmakers reached a new 2-year budget bill. Trump signed the bill later that morning, putting an end to a very brief government shutdown.
The bill is a government spending package that includes plans to spend more money on a variety of causes, from the opioid crisis to college affordability. It also allocates $165 billion to the Department of Defense alone.
Republican critics of the bill generally cited its increase in spending as irresponsible. Democratic critics focused on the fact that the bill excluded any provisions for immigration or the DACA program, which have been hotly contested.
Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi gave a speech on the current fate of undocumented immigrants and DACA recipients in the country. Running over eight hours to become one of the longest speeches on the House floor in the last 100 years, the speech pressured Speaker Paul Ryan to conduct a vote regarding immigration. In the days leading up to the vote, Pelosi expressed her disappointment that the bill did not address DACA, noting that "without that commitment from Speaker Ryan, comparable to the commitment from Leader McConnell, this package does not have my support, nor does it have the support of a large number of members of our caucus."
Tension between Democrats and Republicans over the budget bill reached a fever pitch, and put the government on a path to its second shutdown in three weeks. President Trump seemed to welcome the possibility of a second shutdown, stating via Twitter that he'd "love to see a shutdown if [they] don't get this stuff taken care of...if [they] have to shut it down because the Democrats don't want safety, then shut it down."
The resolution following the brief government shutdown of 9 hours was a budget that increased by $300 billion, as well as funding that will allow the government to remain active until March 23rd. The agreement was reached through a vote of 240-186 by the House of Representatives. Ever strident, Trump later expressed his approval of the bill via Twitter, stating that it was a "big victory." Some, like Senator Rand Paul, are concerned about the increase in spending, given that U.S. debt is already massive and continuing to balloon unchecked. Senator Rand Paul argued that the U.S should withdraw from Afghanistan to avoid allocating more money to U.S. Defense. "Washington is broken," he added, "[and is] spending money like its out of control."
The new budget, while notable for its goal to suspend national statutory debt until 2019, also marks the new shift in the Republican party itself. While most Republicans railed against the spending of money under the Obama administration, Republican party leaders are now supporting the increase of the budget.
Although Congress' budget vote on Friday did not include any promises regarding immigration reform, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced that an immigration debate will begin next week. This will be an opportunity for both Democrats and Republicans to submit proposals for potential amendments to the immigration bill.