Updated January 29, 2026 at 5:54 PM CST
Senate Democrats say there is a deal to prevent broad parts of the government from a lengthy shutdown, while allowing for negotiations to continue over funding the Department of Homeland Security. But the measure will need to be re-voted on in the House, meaning a short-term shutdown appears all but inevitable.
Under a framework announced Thursday by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Republicans have agreed to separate DHS funding from a package of five other appropriations bills that have already passed the House but have not yet cleared the Senate. The plan would allow senators to approve the five bipartisan bills and vote on a separate two-week stopgap for DHS.
Democrats had refused to back the complete spending package without major reforms to the Department of Homeland Security and the ongoing immigration enforcement actions led by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
"Until ICE is properly reined in and overhauled legislatively, the DHS funding bill doesn't have the votes to pass," Schumer said Wednesday.
The stopgap would allow them to negotiate under the pressure of a new funding deadline for the agency.
Earlier Thursday, the Senate failed to advance the complete six-bill funding package, as eight Republicans joined with Democrats to prevent the plan from clearing a procedural vote. The final tally was 45 to 55.
It remains unclear if Senate Republicans are fully on board with the compromise measure -- or if they can even pass the new package before funding expires Friday at midnight. The House would also need to approve the plan, but the lower chamber is on recess until Monday. If the House does act quickly, the effects of a shutdown could be extremely limited as most federal offices are closed on the weekend.
The breakthrough follows the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis by federal agents on Saturday. At one point, it seemed that the memory of the historic 43-day shutdown last year would be put firmly in the rearview mirror and that senators would fairly easily fund the remaining appropriations bill for fiscal year 2026. But after Pretti's death, Senate Democrats said they would demand significant reforms at the Department of Homeland Security in exchange for approving funding.
Democrats are calling for broad changes to the way DHS agents are carrying out their work. This includes barring them from wearing masks, requiring body cameras, setting rules around warrants and creating a uniform code of conduct and use-of-force rules.
President Trump endorsed the spending deal on social media, saying he was working with Congress "to ensure that we are able to fully fund the Government, without delay."
"Republicans and Democrats in Congress have come together to get the vast majority of the Government funded until September, while at the same time providing an extension to the Department of Homeland Security (including the very important Coast Guard, which we are expanding and rebuilding like never before). Hopefully, both Republicans and Democrats will give a very much needed Bipartisan "YES" Vote," Trump wrote.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has acknowledged the difficult task of getting a new bill to pass in the House, where some hard-line Republican members have already vowed to throw a wrench into any plans to pass a Senate-modified DHS bill.
"I think it's really important, if possible, to do it here and not to have to send it back to the House of Representatives, where the future of an appropriations package, I think, would be somewhat uncertain," Thune said.
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