Vote averts homeland security shutdown

US Republican leaders have ended a crisis that exposed splits in their party by turning to Democrats to help pass a bill to extend funding for domestic security by nine months.

A partial government shutdown was looming again as the Department of Homeland Security was due to run out of funding at midnight on Friday. Lawmakers had passed a last-minute seven day extension last Friday.

Republicans had turned the security department into a battleground over President Barack Obama's immigration policy, but the party was riven last week by disagreements between leaders and conservatives over how hard to fight.

The split hurt John Boehner, the Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, who managed to get the nine-month funding extension passed on Tuesday only with the support of 182 Democrats and 75 Republicans.

The bill was opposed by 167 Republicans, many of them protesting against Mr Boehner's move to disconnect security funding from Mr Obama's move to shield up to 5m unauthorised immigrants from deportation.

Republican leaders had set up the shutdown threat by drafting funding legislation that would have also blocked Mr Obama's immigration plans, which many Republicans see as an overextension of executive power.

But last week that strategy only served to highlight policy splits in the party and raise questions about Republicans' governing credentials.

The nine month extension has been passed by the Senate and will now go to the president to be signed into law.

A court challenge has made it easier for Republicans to rein in their legislative challenge to Mr Obama's immigration measures because a federal judge in Texas last month imposed a temporary block on them.

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