It is the latest court ruling staving off deep cuts to social services that Democratic-led states say are politically motivated and would harm hundreds of thousands of people.
In a moment of frayed trans-Atlantic relations, Speaker Mike Johnson abruptly canceled the House delegation to Europe's biggest annual security summit.
Senate Democrats refused to move ahead with a spending bill needed to keep the Department of Homeland Security running because it lacked limits they have demanded on federal immigration agents.
The debate over whether federal agents should be allowed to cover their faces with masks has become a flashpoint as the government heads for a partial shutdown.
