US embassy in India restricts social media activity temporarily due to partial govt shutdown

THE US Embassy in India announced on Saturday, 31 January, a temporary reduction in its social media activity. In a post on X, the US Embassy said it was curtailing activity on its social media account due to the ongoing partial government shutdown in the United States.

It said that the account will not be updated regularly until full operations resume. In a post on X, the Embassy said essential communications, including updates on safety and security, will continue to be shared.

“Because of the lapse in appropriations, this X account will not be updated regularly until full operations resume, except for urgent safety and security information,” the US embassy post read.

Not just the US embassy; the US embassy in Dhaka, Bangladesh, had issued a similar statement as the country faced a partial government shutdown.

The American government entered a partial shutdown on Saturday, just hours after the US Senate approved a revised package of funding bills. However, the House of Representatives is not expected to approve the changes until Monday, 2 February, at the earliest.

The US Senate voted on Friday, 30 January, to separate extended funding for the US Department of Homeland Security. The development came after it reached a deal with the White House to delay it for some days to negotiate Democrats' demands for restrictions on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), including requiring agents to wear body cameras and not wear masks, ABC News reported. In the vote, only five Republicans voted against it.

After this, the bill will be tabled in the House, where Speaker Mile Johnson will bring the package to the floor. Only when the bill reaches a majority will it be presented to US President Donald Trump.

The path to the Senate vote was cleared earlier on Friday when Republican Senator Lindsey Graham lifted his hold after securing a commitment from Senate Majority Leader John Thune to hold a vote on a ban on sanctuary cities in the coming weeks, according to ABC News.

Meanwhile, Mike Johnson has exuded confidence that he has the votes to end the partial shutdown. In an interview with NBC, Mike Johnson said, “I am confident that we'll do it at least by Tuesday. We have a logistical challenge of getting everyone in town.”

This is the second time Congress has failed to fund the government since Trump returned to office last year.

Earlier, the federal government went into a 43-day shutdown during the autumn. It was the longest shutdown to halt food aid for millions of households and put hundreds out of work.