The Senate voted Friday evening to avert a prolonged federal government shutdown, passing a bipartisan spending package designed to keep most federal agencies funded through the end of the fiscal year while buying lawmakers additional time to resolve disputes over the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
The $1.2 trillion measure passed the Senate by a 71–29 vote. It would fund the Pentagon and the Departments of Education, Labor, Health and Human Services, Transportation, Treasury, and State through September 30. DHS, however, would receive only a two-week extension, setting up another round of high-stakes negotiations later this month.
The legislation is intended to prevent a repeat of the record-long government shutdown that disrupted federal operations late last year. Still, a brief lapse in funding now appears likely. The House of Representatives is out of session and is not expected to return to Washington to vote on the bill until Monday evening, meaning a partial shutdown would begin early Saturday if no action is taken before then.
Speaker Mike Johnson acknowledged that possibility in comments to reporters on Thursday. “We may inevitably be in a short shutdown situation,” Johnson said. “But the House is going to do its job.”
According to multiple reports, Johnson has told Republican members that President Donald Trump supports the Senate’s bipartisan agreement. House GOP leaders are weighing whether to suspend normal House rules and fast-track the bill when lawmakers return. That approach would require support from two-thirds of House members, making Democratic votes essential for passage.
If the House clears the measure early next week, the president could sign it quickly, limiting the shutdown to a matter of days. Attention would then turn immediately to DHS, which has become the most contentious element of the broader funding debate.
Democrats have sharply criticized DHS following the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good earlier this month, and many have tied their support for future DHS funding to changes in immigration enforcement practices. These demands are expected to include new restrictions on enforcement procedures, such as warrant requirements, body camera usage, and masking policies for immigration officers.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who helped negotiate the current deal with the administration, framed the spending process as a key point of leverage for Democrats. “We don’t have that many leverage points in the Senate, but obviously spending is one of them,” Schumer said. “We realized we had to reform and really rein in ICE.”
Progressive lawmakers and advocacy groups remain skeptical that incremental changes will be sufficient. Many are expected to oppose any DHS funding bill that does not include significant reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which some Democrats argue has strayed from its original mission and operates with insufficient oversight.
At the same time, immigration hawks in both parties are likely to push back against Democratic demands. Republicans, in particular, are expected to argue that conceding to those proposals would weaken immigration enforcement and reward political pressure from progressive activists. They also point to the Biden administration’s record on border crossings as a reason to resist new constraints on DHS operations.
With the immediate shutdown deadline approaching and deeper disagreements still unresolved, lawmakers face a compressed timeline and a politically fraught negotiation. While the Senate’s action reduces the risk of a long-term funding lapse, it also sets the stage for another intense debate over immigration policy and federal enforcement priorities in the weeks ahead.
