Washington, D.C. is facing a partial government shutdown as Congress failed to pass six spending bills before the deadline, leaving many federal agencies without funding. The Senate voted late Friday to approve a five-bill package that would extend funding for the Department of Homeland Security for two weeks, while House Democrats had threatened to withhold their support unless the DHS bill was revised.
The Trump administration's approach to immigration enforcement has been at the center of this funding fight. Since the longest shutdown in U.S. history last fall, lawmakers have been working on individual spending bills to fund federal agencies through September 2026. Congress has already passed and signed six of these bills, but the remaining six are the focus of the current funding battle.
Bipartisan talks appeared to have yielded a deal in recent weeks, with the Senate releasing the text of the funding measures on January 20. However, the deadly shooting of Renee Good by an ICE officer in Minneapolis and then Alex Pretti by federal immigration agents last weekend changed the calculus for Senate Democrats, who came out fiercely against funding for DHS without further reforms.
In a last-minute move, Senate Democrats struck a deal with the White House, which would support the five non-DHS funding bills, while extending funding for DHS at current levels for two weeks. The deal still needs to be approved by the House, and the lower chamber isn't set to return to Washington until Monday.
The shutdown is not expected to affect the Trump administration's immigration enforcement campaign, as DHS received an infusion of roughly $165 billion in last year's One Big Beautiful Bill Act. However, many federal agencies are affected, including the Department of Defense, State Department, and Department of Labor.
In contrast, six appropriations bills have already been approved by both chambers, funding agencies such as the Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Agriculture, and Food and Drug Administration through September 2026.
A government shutdown occurs when Congress fails to pass funding for some or all agencies, which are funded annually by a dozen appropriations bills. The law known as the Antideficiency Act prohibits federal agencies from spending funds that have not been authorized by Congress.
The shutdown could last relatively quickly if House conservatives back down on their demands, but it's uncertain. Republicans are dealing with a razor-thin majority in the House, and Democrats could decide to help propel it to final passage.
Once the funding package reaches the House Rules Committee, one of the next steps is a procedural vote on the rule, which would typically be approved by the majority in a party-line vote. However, several conservatives have already warned that they could withhold their votes if their demands aren't met.
The Trump administration's approach to immigration enforcement has been at the center of this funding fight. Since the longest shutdown in U.S. history last fall, lawmakers have been working on individual spending bills to fund federal agencies through September 2026. Congress has already passed and signed six of these bills, but the remaining six are the focus of the current funding battle.
Bipartisan talks appeared to have yielded a deal in recent weeks, with the Senate releasing the text of the funding measures on January 20. However, the deadly shooting of Renee Good by an ICE officer in Minneapolis and then Alex Pretti by federal immigration agents last weekend changed the calculus for Senate Democrats, who came out fiercely against funding for DHS without further reforms.
In a last-minute move, Senate Democrats struck a deal with the White House, which would support the five non-DHS funding bills, while extending funding for DHS at current levels for two weeks. The deal still needs to be approved by the House, and the lower chamber isn't set to return to Washington until Monday.
The shutdown is not expected to affect the Trump administration's immigration enforcement campaign, as DHS received an infusion of roughly $165 billion in last year's One Big Beautiful Bill Act. However, many federal agencies are affected, including the Department of Defense, State Department, and Department of Labor.
In contrast, six appropriations bills have already been approved by both chambers, funding agencies such as the Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Agriculture, and Food and Drug Administration through September 2026.
A government shutdown occurs when Congress fails to pass funding for some or all agencies, which are funded annually by a dozen appropriations bills. The law known as the Antideficiency Act prohibits federal agencies from spending funds that have not been authorized by Congress.
The shutdown could last relatively quickly if House conservatives back down on their demands, but it's uncertain. Republicans are dealing with a razor-thin majority in the House, and Democrats could decide to help propel it to final passage.
Once the funding package reaches the House Rules Committee, one of the next steps is a procedural vote on the rule, which would typically be approved by the majority in a party-line vote. However, several conservatives have already warned that they could withhold their votes if their demands aren't met.
. It's like, come on guys, we need to fund some of these agencies or else what's gonna happen? People are gonna lose their jobs, services are gonna be shut down... it's all kinda crazy. And now there's this whole thing about DHS funding and immigration enforcement, I'm just so done with that 
. Can't they just find a compromise already? The Trump administration is making this even harder by not wanting to budge on their stance on immigration. It's just so frustrating 
.
Another government shutdown... how original. I mean, who doesn't love the thrill of potentially losing paychecks and seeing federal agencies grind to a halt? 
Like, we get it, there are no easy answers, but can't we just try to be decent human beings for once?
Who needs bipartisanship when you can have a good ol' fashioned shutdown fight?
5 bill package was passed by senate but still need approval from house 
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Who needs DHS funding when you can just use that $165 billion from last year? 
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. And honestly, it's hard not to wonder what all this means for the Trump administration's immigration policies... it seems like they're getting exactly what they wanted from Congress 
. I guess only time will tell how this all plays out 
.
and politics 
instead of working together to help people 
. I mean, DHS is supposed to keep us safe, right? But it feels like they're not even trying to find a compromise 
is that all these federal agencies are affected 
. Like, how's the military gonna function without funding 
.
. Can't we all just get along? 
This partial shutdown thingy is getting super messy. I think Congress needs to sort out their priorities and stop playing politics with people's lives. 
can't we just have a smooth process for once? 
and u gotta wait till mom or dad pays it off. but in this case, its not just about payin' bills, its about fundin' agencies that do important stuff like helpin' people with jobs and healthcare 
. hope everything gets sorted out soon 
DHS funding for two weeks sounds like a half baked solution if u ask me. 
. Will they get their act together or will we have a shutdown that lasts a while? We'll just have to wait and see...
. The Trump admin's approach to immigration enforcement is already super polarizing, do we really need another crisis like this? 
️
. And what about the folks who work for the State Department or Labor department? They're going without paychecks because of someone else's politics 
. This government shutdown just makes me feel like we're not making progress on that front