【By Observer News, Wang Kaiwen】At the early hours of January 31st local time, the operating funds of multiple U.S. federal government departments ran out. Although the U.S. Senate passed a funding bill the previous night, due to the House of Representatives not yet approving the bill, several federal departments once again fell into a "technical shutdown."

Facing the "reappearance" of the situation less than three months ago, President Trump called on "enough people to use their brains" to quickly end the government "shutdown." However, the minority leader of the House of Representatives stated that the Republicans could not rely on the Democrats to pass the funding bill, which raised concerns about an extended "shutdown."

According to The Hill, Trump said on January 31st during an interview with Fox News that the U.S. GDP "has grown significantly," but due to the government "shutdown" at the end of last year, the U.S. GDP "lost 1.5 percentage points."

"So we'll see. I think the Democrats don't want it (the 'shutdown') to happen. It would make them look very bad, but it's not good for the country either. So, I hope enough people will use their brains," Trump said. He believed everything was going smoothly right now.

According to reports, the funds of multiple federal agencies, including the Department of Defense, State Department, Treasury Department, and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), expired or were affected by the "shutdown" at the early hours of January 31st.

The U.S. Senate passed the government funding bill late on the 30th. But the bill still needs approval from the House of Representatives, and the members of the House of Representatives won't return to Washington until February 2nd after their recess.

Democrats had said they would block a $1.2 trillion package of funding plans because they opposed the funding for the Department of Homeland Security, including an additional $1 billion for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency under the department.

Local time January 30, 2026, protests against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) broke out in various parts of the United States. IC Photo

Senators reached an agreement with the White House at the last minute, splitting off the part related to the Department of Homeland Security to ensure two-party negotiations can continue within the next two weeks.

This move was seen as a victory for Democrats. In January this year, two American citizens were killed by federal officers during immigration enforcement in Minnesota. Democrats are pushing hard to limit ICE and border patrol enforcement.

Between October and November last year, the U.S. experienced the longest government "shutdown" in history, lasting 43 days. The Hill believes the impact of this "shutdown" is expected to be much less than that in the fall last year.

House Speaker, Republican Mike Johnson from Louisiana, said on January 30 that he hoped to use a special fast-track procedure requiring Democratic cooperation after the House resumes on Monday to pass the funding plan quickly, to avoid another long shutdown.

However, the minority leader of the House, Democrat Hakim Jeffries from New York, did not commit to supporting the bill. In a statement on the 30th, he said the Democrats would assess the content of the bill passed by the Senate before deciding how to proceed legislatively.

"Our commitment is to protect the health, safety, and economic well-being of the American people at any time," Jeffries said. "The Trump administration must present a firm policy path to thoroughly reform ICE and other Department of Homeland Security agencies — the American people know these agencies have become lawless and overzealous in enforcement."

CNN cited two informed sources who said Jeffries told Johnson on January 31 that if Republicans tried to fast-track the funding bill to resume government operations on Monday, the Democrats would not assist in passing the bill.

Reports say many House Democrats believe the Department of Homeland Security should not receive funding for two weeks, and Jeffries seems to be on their side, increasing the possibility that government departments will remain "shut down" after next Monday.

According to reports, Johnson previously sought to pass the funding bill through a procedure known as "suspension of the rules," meaning that two-thirds of the members of the House would need to approve the bill. If Democrats do not cooperate, Johnson would only rely on Republicans to push the bill forward, which would require the House first to pass a rule allowing the bill to be passed by a simple majority.

On January 28th, the minority leader of the Senate, Democrat Chuck Schumer from New York, proposed a reform measure as a condition for the Democrats to vote for the funding bill. These measures include banning roving patrols, expanding requirements for search warrants and body cameras, establishing uniform conduct standards for all federal officers, and prohibiting Department of Homeland Security officials from wearing face masks.

Trump refused to comment on the requirement to remove face masks on January 31st, telling Fox News, "You know my position," and also claimed that the U.S. is "in the lowest crime rate in history."

American government's strict immigration enforcement actions are facing increasingly strong opposition domestically. After two American citizens were shot by officers, demonstrations broke out across the country on January 31st, demanding the federal immigration enforcement agencies to withdraw from Minnesota.

According to Reuters, Trump said on January 31st that he had ordered the Department of Homeland Security not to intervene in protests in cities led by Democrats unless those cities requested federal assistance or there was a threat to federal property.

This article is exclusive to Observer News, and unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.

Original: toutiao.com/article/7601711692535333427/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author alone.