There Was a Shutdown? Government One DHS Bill Away from Completing Appropriations

On Feb. 3, the House voted 217-214 to advance H.R.7148, ending the four-day partial government shutdown. Twenty-one Democrats joined 196 Republicans in supporting the measure. President Trump swiftly signed the measure into law. The bill provides funding for five of the remaining fiscal year (FY) 2026 appropriations bills – Financial Services and General Government; National Security and Department of State; Department of Defense; Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education; and Transportation, Housing and Urban Development – in addition to a two-week continuing resolution (CR) for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) set to expire on Friday, Feb. 13.

The remaining six appropriations bills were initially slated to advance quickly through the Senate on a bipartisan basis following House passage in late January with the support of both parties. However, following recent events in Minnesota, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) announced all Senate Democrats would block any funding package that includes funding for DHS without additional guardrails around Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Following this, Senate Democrats and the White House reached an agreement to separate DHS from the other five appropriations bills, and Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins (R-ME) filed an amendment to implement this change. The Senate agreed to vote on a series of amendments before final passage. The Senate ultimately approved the revised minibus in a 71–29 vote last Friday, with opposition from five Republicans and 24 Democrats, following consideration of the following amendments:

1. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) Amendment #4272: To eliminate funding for refugee and entrant assistance.
   • Rejected, 32-67
2. Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) Amendment #4241: To eliminate the National Endowment for Democracy.
   • Rejected by voice vote
3. Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) Amendment #4236: To strike all earmarks.
   • Motion to table adopted, 67-33.
4. Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) Amendment #4234: To strike the earmark for the Community and Training Center by the New Immigrant Community Empowerment.
   • Motion to table adopted, 58-42 vote.
5. Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) Amendment #4286: To eliminate funding for the United States African Development Foundation.
   • Motion to table adopted, 58-42 vote.
6. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) Amendment #4290: To rescind certain amounts appropriated for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and certain changes to Medicaid.
   • Rejected, 49-51.
7. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) Amendment #4287: To prevent the deferral or rescission of appropriations within 90 days of their expiration.
   • Rejected, 47-52 and ruled out of order.
8. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) Amendment #4273: To provide continuing appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security for two weeks.
   • Adopted, unanimous consent.

Because the Senate amended the version of the bill previously passed by the House, the minibus returned to the House for final consideration, triggering a partial government shutdown that began Saturday, Jan. 31. However, because the shutdown occurred over a weekend and lasted only four days, operational impacts were minimal.

Looking Forward

With 11 out of 12 FY2026 appropriations bills signed into law, the House, Senate and White House have less than two weeks to reach an agreement on a revised DHS bill, but significant policy differences remain. Potential paths forward include revisions to ICE funding language aimed at securing broader Democratic support. In particular, Democrats are seeking enhanced oversight and accountability measures, including an independent federal–state investigation into ICE‑related deaths and enforcement practices; restrictions on the use of face masks by ICE agents; mandatory deployment of body‑worn cameras across all ICE operations; a prohibition on roving ICE patrols; the elimination of administrative warrants that circumvent judicial review; and the termination of internal ICE arrest quotas. Additionally, some Democrats have indicated support for withholding DHS funding for the remainder of FY2026. DHS recently mandated body-worn cameras for officers on the ground in Minneapolis. We expect the White House to play a key role in negotiating a final DHS bill.

Despite the DHS setback, the appropriations process is more than 90% complete for FY 2026 and well in advance of a March deadline, as we have seen in prior fiscal years. We look forward to working with clients ahead of the start of the FY 2027 appropriations process and will continue to provide updates on submission deadlines and the release of the FY 2027 president’s budget.

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