Government Shutdown

The partial government shutdown has now lasted eight weeks with Congress on recess until 13 AprilHello and welcome to the US politics live blog.The record-breaking partial government shutdown has now entered its eighth week, with little end in sight.Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has signed into a law a bill that allows the state to designate terrorist groups, then punish those who promote them. Critics say the law will threaten free speech, especially on school campuses. The bill specifics bars the state’s courts from enforcing foreign religious laws, specifically naming Sharia Law. Florida courts enforce secular laws passed in the state, however.Representative Yassamin Ansari, an Arizona Democrat, will introduce impeachment articles next week against defense secretary Pete Hegseth. “Only Congress has the power to declare war, not a rogue president or his lackeys,” Ansari said in a statement.Donald Trump reiterated his threats to bomb Iranian energy and civilian infrastructure if the White House does not reach a deal to reopen the strait of Hormuz 8pm ET today. “The entire country can be taken out in one night, and that night might be tomorrow night,” Trump said during a 90-minute press conference Monday afternoon.District court judges have been increasingly issuing strong rulings challenging the legality of many of Trump’s policies and power grabs, blocking key ones at least temporarily, and sparking angry responses from the president, former judges and prosecutors say.Trump threatened to jail a journalist – or journalists – who reported that a second US airman was missing after being shot down by Iran on Friday in an effort to identify their source. The badly injured airman hid in a mountain crevice to avoid capture before being rescued by a US recovery team that received heavy fire. Continue reading...

Tabloid outlet has covered Republicans and Democrats relaxing at places like Disney World as shutdown drags onWhen US federal workers were missing paychecks and the partial government shutdown entered its seventh week, Lindsey Graham, a Republican senator from South Carolina, was doing what any responsible lawmaker would do: riding Space Mountain and carrying a bubble wand at Disney World in Florida.Naturally, TMZ had photos of the vacationing senator on its homepage a few days later. Continue reading...

If the now-six-week partial shutdown continues after the weekend, it will become the longest of any shutdownThe shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the fourth largest agency in the US government, became the longest partial shutdown in US history on Sunday.If the now-six-week partial shutdown continues after the weekend, it will also become the longest of any shutdown, surpassing the impasse late last year that dragged on for 43 days. Continue reading...

• President Trump signed an executive order directing the Department of Homeland Security to pay TSA agents after House Republicans blocked the Senate's funding plan for the agency. • The partial government shutdown has caused widespread disruptions at airports across the country, with long security lines and traveler frustrations continuing nationwide. • The executive action represents an attempt to maintain airport security operations while funding negotiations continue between Congress and the White House.

• Senate passed a funding package by voice vote on March 27, 2026, covering most DHS operations except ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations, paving way to end partial shutdown before two-week recess. • Package includes $20 million for body cameras on immigration agents, drawing from January negotiations, while Republicans eyed reconciliation for more immigration funding. • Deal averts further disruptions amid Trump's unilateral TSA worker payments, with House potentially voting Friday; impacts $140 billion prior windfall for ICE and CBP.