On Friday night (January 30), the United States Senate overwhelmingly passed a major funding package, including five regular appropriations bills and a two-week temporary funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). However, as the bill could not take effect before midnight, some government departments will shutdown at midnight.
The vote result was 71 in favor and 29 against, bringing an end to a tumultuous week in the Senate.
But the Senate’s approval of the bill couldn’t prevent a partial government shutdown a few hours later. This is because the House of Representatives also needs to vote to approve the final version of the bill, and the House won’t return to Washington until Monday.
According to MS NOW, House Speaker, Republican John Johnson of Louisiana, expressed his support for the funding bill passed by the Senate during a Republican conference call held earlier on Friday. He mentioned that with the support of President Trump, he would support the Senate’s funding bill.
Johnson hoped that the House of Representatives would pass the bill on Monday. Once approved by the House, the spending bill will be sent to President Trump for his signature.
Meanwhile, a partial government shutdown will commence at 12:01 am Eastern Time on Saturday.
On Friday afternoon, the Senate unanimously passed seven amendments as part of the agreement to advance this comprehensive funding package.
The core content of the funding bill remained consistent with previous negotiations. The bill extracts funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from a combination of six bills, turning it into a short-term extension for two weeks (until mid-February) while advancing five other full-year appropriations bills (covering defense, labor-health education, transportation-housing, financial services, etc.) that will fund most government operations until the end of the fiscal year on September 30, 2026.
The agreement reached on Friday resolved the procedural voting obstacles encountered by the Senate on Thursday (29th), clearing the way for the bill to move forward.
On Thursday, the Senate faced a procedural vote on the complete set of six bills, including DHS, which failed with a 45-55 vote. All Democrats and some Republicans, including fiscal conservatives, opposed the bill.
Subsequently, after negotiations between the two parties, it was decided to proceed with a quick vote on five bills alongside a short-term funding bill for DHS, but soon faced procedural issues. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham objected to a controversial provision in the funding bill, prompting the Senate to continue the discussion on Friday.
Following the resolution of Graham’s concerns on Friday afternoon, both parties reached an agreement, and the Senate was set to hold a final vote on the entire package.
Next, the Senate needs to proceed with the actual vote to approve the funding bill, which could potentially be completed on Friday.
Following Senate approval, the House of Representatives will need to approve the amended version. The House could potentially debate the bill as early as next Monday (February 2). The House had previously passed a funding bill on the 22nd, which originally included DHS.
President Trump expressed his support for the funding agreement on the social media platform “Truth Social,” agreeing to fund most government agencies until September through cooperation between Republicans and Democrats, and extending funding for the DHS.
Moving forward, members of Congress may engage in negotiations regarding constraints on President Trump’s immigration enforcement agenda.