US Government Briefly Shut Down Despite Senate Funding Deal
The U.S. federal government experienced a partial shutdown early Saturday morning, despite the Senate's approval of a last-minute funding deal. The funding lapse began at midnight US eastern time (05:00 GMT), hours after senators agreed to fund most agencies until September, according to BBC World.
The agreement, a culmination of intense negotiations between the White House and Democrats, included only two weeks of funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees immigration enforcement, instead of a complete shutdown, the NY Times reported. The House of Representatives, however, was out of session and had yet to approve the bill.
The short-term funding measure came about after Democrats refused to provide more funding for immigration enforcement following a fatal shooting, according to BBC World. This agreement amounted to a major breakthrough fueled by a sharp pivot by President Trump and Republicans in Congress, who have rushed in recent days to distance themselves, the NY Times noted.
In other news, Israeli air strikes in Gaza on Saturday killed at least 28 Palestinians, according to local authorities and rescue officials, BBC World reported. The civil defense agency, operated by Hamas, stated that children and women were among the deceased. One attack reportedly involved helicopter gunships hitting a tent sheltering displaced people in Khan Younis. Palestinians described these strikes as the heaviest since the second phase of the ceasefire, brokered by President Trump in October, came into effect earlier this month, according to BBC World.
Meanwhile, President Trump's upcoming nomination of Kevin M. Warsh as the next chair of the Federal Reserve could impact Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, the NY Times reported. Mr. Bessent led the vetting process for the position. Mr. Warsh, a former Fed governor from 2006 to 2011, has recently reinvented himself as an interest-rate-cutting dove after years of expressing caution about the inflationary risk of lowering borrowing rates, the NY Times noted.
Furthermore, when President Trump upended global trade with his Liberation Day tariffs last year, China could have seized the moment to win over bewildered U.S. allies and partners with a charm offensive, the NY Times reported. Instead, Beijing threatened countries that dared to cooperate with the Trump administration in restricting trade with China.
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