President Donald Trump signs a government funding bill in the Oval Office of the White House on Feb. 3, 2026. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) WASHINGTON — The partial government shutdown that began this weekend ended late Tuesday when President Donald Trump signed the funding package that both chambers of Congress approved within the last week. The House voted 217-214 earlier in the day to clear the package for Trump following a tumultuous couple of weeks on Capitol Hill after the package stalled in the Senate. Democrats demanded additional restraints on immigration enforcement in reaction to the shooting death of a second U.S. citizen in Minneapolis. “We’ve succeeded in passing a fiscally reasonable package that actually cuts wasteful federal spending while supporting critical programs for the safety, security and prosperity for the American people,” Trump said in the Oval Office during the signing of the spending package. Trump and Senate Minority...
Rep. Matt Simpson, R-Daphne, speaks on the floor of the Alabama House of Representatives on Jan. 27, 2026 at the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Alabama. Simpson was taken to a hospital for an unspecified illness after appearing pale and in pain during a committee meeting on Tuesday. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector) Rep. Matt Simpson, R-Daphne, was taken to a hospital Tuesday afternoon with an unspecified illness, according to House Rules Committee Chair Joe Lovvorn, R-Auburn. “Be with Brother Simpson as he is dealing with this issue. Give him healing hands and a quick response for his care givers,” Lovvorn said on the House floor Tuesday afternoon while leading the chamber in prayer. Simpson was supposed to present HB 41 , which would allow prosecutors to seek the death penalty for those convicted of sexual assault of a child under the age of 12, to the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday afternoon. Minutes before the meeting began, Simpson appeared pale and in pain. ...