With one full week to go before current funding expires on several federal agencies, the House has passed the last of its FY2026 budget appropriations. Now the two consolidated bills come to the Senate, and Chuck Schumer has some choices to make. Will he lead Senate Democrats into another shutdown … or stand down and let the moment pass quietly?
House Democrats made the latter more likely yesterday. Enough of them crossed the aisle to pass the bill containing the appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security, while the other consolidated bill sailed to passage:
The House passed funding for the Department of Homeland Security Thursday by a narrow margin amid a Democratic uproar over President Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration enforcement agenda.
The 220-207 vote puts Congress on track to clear the last annual spending bills ahead of the Jan. 30 deadline, avoiding a partial government shutdown. The DHS measure funds the Coast Guard, ICE, CBP, FEMA, TSA and other agencies through the end of the current fiscal year on Sept. 30.
Lawmakers later voted 341-88 to pass a larger, more bipartisan measure funding the Pentagon and departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, and Education, also through Sept. 30.
It was a victory for House GOP leaders, who overcame attendance issues and concerns about the overall size of the spending package within their ranks. The chamber has now passed all 12 annual appropriations bills.
Seven Democrats crossed the aisle to vote in favor of DHS funding, in line with earlier reports about a bipartisan agreement on the final form of the bill. As Politico notes further into the article, Democrats did get a few concessions about training and oversight in DHS operations and facilities in exchange for getting enough votes to ensure passage.
House Democrats got other concessions as well:
The bills passed Thursday rejected many of the steep funding cuts to major domestic agencies that the Trump administration sought in the White House budget request earlier this year, but neither do they offer significant funding boosts. The Department of Housing and Urban Development would see a 9 percent boost over current funding levels, totaling $84.3 billion for HUD.
The Education Department would receive $79 billion, a slight increase of $217 million above current funding. The Department of Health and Human Services would be funded at nearly $117 billion, a $210 million increase, while the Department of Labor would get $13.7 billion, a $65 million hike.
So Senate Democrats have skin in the game, but Senate Republicans have some gripes to vent if they want. Since these are coming to the Senate as two separate bills, Schumer could decide to allow passage for the bigger bill while using the filibuster to block DHS funding. John Thune likely will anticipate that and force the Senate to address the DHS funding bill first, or at least one would hope so.
But do Democrats really want another shutdown scenario, just as the midterm preparations begin? They believe they won the last one in terms of public reception. The RCP tracking of aggregate polling on the generic ballot seems to validate that perception, where the current D+4.9 is the widest gap in Trump’s second term. However, they also didn’t get a single substantive concession, and aren’t likely to win one in this scenario either. This time, a shutdown will almost entirely hit Democrat priorities in HUD, Education, and Labor, while DHS and ICE have a $75 billion reserve that will easily take them to the end of the fiscal year – without the concessions House Democrats got on training and oversight.
Tim Kaine voted to end the Schumer Shutdown, but did some throat-clearing today:
Sen. Kaine supported deal to reopen gov in Nov but doesn’t like what Senate will vote on next week. Says it doesn’t restrict Trump enough
“We shouldn’t give his deranged decisions the imprimatur of congressional approval by passing this legislation without significant…
— Burgess Everett (@burgessev) January 23, 2026
“We shouldn’t give his deranged decisions the imprimatur of congressional approval by passing this legislation without significant amendment”
That sounds like a bluff, or perhaps just a cover for an eventual pass on a filibuster. Kaine can offer such an amendment in the process of debate. If it gets shot down, and it surely will in the Republican-controlled Senate, then Kaine will have had his amendment and can proceed to a final vote without a shutdown.
The Senate has one week to go on the current CR. Perhaps they will spend the weekend getting this handled while the media focuses on the big winter storm, or perhaps they will take it all the way to the deadline. The crossovers in the House have undercut Senate Democrats on a shutdown, though, so don’t expect much more than drama this week.
Editor’s Note: After more than 40 days of screwing Americans, Dems finally caved. The Schumer Shutdown was never about principle—just inflicting pain for political points. They own this, if they play with fire a second time.
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