الولايات المتحدة تدخل إغلاقاً حكومياً جزئياً للمرة الثانية خلال 6 أشهر

The U.S. federal government has entered a new partial shutdown, the second in six months, after Congress failed to reach a final agreement on the annual budget before the legal deadline.

According to Fox News, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is expected to begin notifying federal agencies to initiate shutdown procedures starting from the early hours after midnight on January 31.

Unlike the previous shutdown, this action is limited this time to a partial shutdown only, due to Congress's success in passing legislation that ensures full funding for certain sectors.

The entities that received full funding include the Department of Agriculture, the legislative authority, and the Department of Justice, while the majority of federal spending remains suspended, awaiting a comprehensive political agreement.

Political Dispute Disrupts Agreement

The shutdown came after Senate Democrats withdrew from a bipartisan agreement aimed at funding the federal government through the end of fiscal year 2026, amid escalating disputes over President Donald Trump's decision to bolster the federal presence of law enforcement in Minneapolis.

Protests against immigration policies had witnessed incidents of violence, resulting in the deaths of American citizens during separate demonstrations, prompting Democrats to threaten to block a massive federal spending bill unless funding for the Department of Homeland Security was excluded.

Potential Consequences

Officials warn that a prolonged shutdown could lead to delays in flights, the possibility of delayed paychecks for active-duty soldiers, in addition to restricting some services of the "Medicaid" and "Medicare" healthcare programs.

In an attempt to avoid escalating the crisis, Senate Democrats reached a new agreement with the White House to fund all departments except the Department of Homeland Security until September 30, with a temporary extension of funding for the department for two weeks to allow for a settlement that includes stricter controls on immigration enforcement agencies.

Division Among Republicans

President Donald Trump welcomed the agreement, urging Republicans to support it, warning that "a long government shutdown is the only thing that can slow the country's progress."

However, the agreement faced sharp criticism from some Senate Republicans, notably Senator Lindsey Graham, who described the plan as a "bad deal," expressing his anger over provisions that allow senators to sue the government if their phone records are seized in prior investigations.

Despite the modified version of the funding bill passing in the Senate with Democratic support, it still needs to be voted on again by the House of Representatives after the amendments were made.

Fate of the Shutdown

Thus, the fate and duration of the government shutdown remain contingent on the ability of House Speaker Mike Johnson to rally political consensus among Republicans and Democrats in the coming days, amid a charged political atmosphere and sharp divisions within Congress.