HOUSE, TRUMP APPROVE BILL FOR FUNDING

Partial shutdown ends, but the stage is set for the next battle over Homeland Security.

- BY KEVIN FREKING

ALEX WONG Getty Images

PRESIDENT TRUMP listens as Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso speaks during the funding bill signing.

President Trump signed a roughly $1.2-trillion government funding bill Tuesday that ends the partial federal shutdown that began over the weekend and sets the stage for an intense debate in Congress over Homeland Security funding.

The president moved quickly to sign the bill after the House approved it with a 217-214 vote.

“This bill is a great victory for the American people,” Trump said.

The vote Tuesday wrapped up congressional work on 11 annual appropriations bills that fund government agencies and programs through Sept. 30.

Passage of the legislation marked the end point for one funding fight, but the start of another. That’s because the package funds the Department of Homeland Security only through Feb. 13, at the behest of Democrats who are demanding more restrictions on immigration enforcement after the shooting deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good by federal officers in Minneapolis.

Difficult negotiations are ahead, particularly for the agency that enforces the nation’s immigration laws — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.