The U.S. Senate recessed Friday for a weeklong break, leaving lawmakers only five legislative days to approve six outstanding government funding bills before a Jan. 30 deadline that could trigger a partial federal shutdown. Congress is already months behind schedule in completing the regular appropriations process for fiscal year 2026, which requires passage of 12 annual spending bills that fund federal agencies.
Senators left Washington with six of those measures unfinished. Four of the six have yet to pass the House of Representatives. House leaders say they plan to advance those four bills next week and are preparing to send a combined package to the Senate.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said he believes it is possible to enact all six bills and send them to President Donald Trump before the funding expires, but time is limited, Just the News reported.
If lawmakers do not reach agreement by Jan. 30, Congress could resort to a continuing resolution to keep the government funded temporarily at existing levels, an approach it has used repeatedly in recent years.
Earlier this week, the Senate passed a three-bill appropriations package covering agencies including Commerce, Justice and Interior, which now awaits the president’s signature.
The short window for action comes amid broader negotiations in both chambers over remaining spending priorities and potential disputes, including funding for the Department of Homeland Security.
Some Democratic lawmakers, meanwhile, are resisting support for Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding legislation unless it includes new restrictions on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), raising the possibility of a federal funding standoff ahead of the Jan. 30 deadline to avert a partial government shutdown.
Left-wingers and other Democrats in both the House and Senate have pressed for oversight measures that would limit how ICE operates, including requirements for agents to obtain warrants before making arrests, wear identification in the field and restrict use of firearms in civilian contexts. Critics argue these changes are necessary to rein in what they describe as unchecked enforcement practices.
The move comes following the Jan. 8 ICE shooting of Minneapolis resident Renee Good. She was killed after appearing to strike an agent with her vehicle while trying to flee the scene after blocking an ICE vehicle in a street and following agents throughout the day as they attempted enforcement actions.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) has said Democratic support for additional DHS funding hinges on such reforms, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has drawn a “red line” against increased ICE funding without changes to agency operations.
“Taxpayer dollars are being used by the Department of Homeland Security and ICE to unleash extremism on the streets of America by individuals who are showing depraved indifference to human life,” Jeffries said earlier this week. He then listed a series of demands aimed at restricting ICE operations.
“There are a variety of different things that can be done that we have put on the table and will continue to put on the table to get ICE under control so that they are actually conducting themselves like every other law enforcement agency in the country, as opposed to operating as if they’re above the law, somehow thinking they’ve got absolute immunity.”
“It’s going to be quite a fight,” added Senator Angus King (I-ME), who caucuses with Democrats.
Lawmakers have already passed several spending packages covering much of the federal government, but the DHS appropriations bill — which includes funding for ICE — has stalled amid the dispute. If Congress does not reach an agreement or pass a continuing resolution by Jan. 30, non-essential DHS operations could be curtailed, though essential functions generally continue under existing budget authority.
Republicans hold a Senate majority and control key procedural levers, and party leaders have indicated they are unlikely to accept changes that Democrats are seeking.
