Congress reaches tentative spending deal – though it may be too late to avert government shutdown

Congressional leaders are understood to have reached a tentative spending deal to bankroll the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) late on Monday – passing a sticking point that should enable negotiators to process the remaining funding bills and avert a partial government shutdown later this week.

As it stands, funding is set to expire on Saturday morning for the departments of Homeland Security, State, Defense, Labour and Health and Human Services.

On Monday evening, lawmakers stuck a tentative deal – or an agreement in principle – for the DHS, according to NBC News, citing sources familiar with the matter.

While the terms of the deal remain unclear, it now paves the way for the resolution of five bills relating to its sister departments, which were largely settled last week.

However, despite the sign of progress, Congress is still in a race against time to pass the spending measures and avoid a short-term government shutdown.

Six months into the fiscal year, Congress is still only about halfway towards passing spending measures ultimately expected to be worth about $1.65trn.

Lawmakers passed the first tranche of six spending bills in early March, funding about 30 per cent of the US government.

Now, they are focused on the larger second package and, in what has become routine, find themselves sailing close to the deadline for the expiration of federal funding as a result of deep policy divisions between Republicans and Democrats.

The bill to fund the DHS, which is responsible for securing and managing America’s borders, has proven difficult to resolve as the question of illegal immigration at the US’s southern border with Mexico has become a central issue in presidential election year.

House Speaker Mike Johnson