Government Shutdown Watch: November 15

On November 14, the House of Representatives passed a bill to temporarily fund the government until early 2024. The bill funds the government at existing levels and does not include additional supplemental funding for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan or U.S. border security, as requested by the Biden administration. The bill extends funding at current spending levels for approximately 20 percent of the federal government until January 19, and the rest of the government until February 2.?

Newly elected House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) divided up the funding bills into issues he believes will be easier to reach consensus, and issues that he believes will be more challenging. It is no surprise that funding for all immigration processing is included in the latter group, in order to give lawmakers more time to negotiate the parameters of immigration funding. Funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Department of State and Department of Labor is set to expire on February 2, 2024.?

Leaders of both parties in the Senate have endorsed the House proposal, and the Senate is expected to vote on the bill later this week. President Biden has signaled that he will sign the bill, despite earlier threats to veto the measure.?

Speaker Johnson’s approach avoids a government shutdown this month, however two partial government shutdowns could occur early next year if Congress is unable to come to an agreement on federal funding proposals.??

Erickson Insights

Erickson Immigration Group will continue monitoring developments and sharing updates as more news is available. Please contact your employer or EIG attorney if you have questions about anything we're reporting above or case-specific questions.