The last-minute deal was struck the same day that the Senate failed to advance a spending package that included funding for the Department of Homeland Security.
Jory Heckman
January 29, 2026 2:34 pm
3 min read
Senate Democrats and Republicans have struck a deal to pass a stopgap funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security, buying both sides more time to negotiate over guardrails on the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement operations.
The Senate is planning to pass a two-week continuing resolution for DHS funding and pass five spending bills that would fund large swaths of the federal government for the rest of the fiscal year.
President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social Thursday evening that “Republicans and Democrats have come together to get the vast majority of the government funded until September,” while providing a short-term extension to fund the Department of Homeland Security.
“I am working hard with Congress to ensure that we are able to fully fund the government without delay,” Trump wrote.
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Even with a tentative deal in place, a partial government shutdown is still likely to occur over the weekend. The House already advanced all six funding bills, and would need to approve any changes made by the Senate to lift the partial shutdown. The House is scheduled to return on Monday, Feb. 2. It’s not yet clear whether House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) plans to bring lawmakers back for a vote over the weekend.
The last-minute deal was struck the same day that the Senate failed to advance a spending package that included funding for the Department of Homeland Security.
The Senate voted 44-55 in a test vote to proceed with all of the remaining spending bills for the rest of fiscal 2026. Seven Republicans joined Democrats in voting against cloture.
Democrats are calling for new restrictions on the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement surge, after Border Patrol agents fatally shot Alex Pretti, an intensive care unit nurse working at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center.
Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) told reporters that he was “encouraged” that the White House is talking with Democratic leadership, but said additional guardrails for ICE and CBP would need to be included in the spending package, rather than executive orders.
“I’m encouraged, but I don’t trust the White House. The idea that they were going to take this by executive action — we have found time and again that they have broken their words. I don’t trust the process of creating a separate bill. Those reforms, I think they need to be in the DHS funding bill,” Warner said.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said the guardrails Democrats are pursuing include an end to “indiscriminate” patrols by immigration officials and a prohibition on ICE personnel entering people’s homes without a judicial warrant. Democrats are also seeking body cameras and a ban on federal immigration officials covering their faces.
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“No one thinks we’re going to solve every problem, every single problem, in one fell swoop. But the American people are demanding that something gets done, and of course, to pass legislation and enshrine this into law. We need our Republican colleagues to come along with us,” Schumer said.
Senate Appropriations Committee Vice President Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said her colleagues are prepared to pass the remaining five spending bills, but added Democrats “cannot and will not move the DHS bill without real progress on accountability.”
“ICE and CBP are out of control, and we cannot approve that bill until common sense reforms are included. That’s what the vast majority of American people are demanding, and many Republicans now also say that must happen as well,” Murray said.
Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Susan Collins (R-Maine) said “there has understandably been a great deal of attention focused on the Homeland Security portion” of the spending package, and said the fatal shooting of Pretti “must be thoroughly and impartially investigated.”
Collins said the DHS spending bill in its current form includes a provision that “would make such incidents as less likely to occur.”
That includes $20 million for body-worn cameras and $2 million to ensure that training requirements include how to de-escalate encounters with protesters. The bill also includes a provision that allows the DHS inspector general to review and investigate detention centers.
“These are all critical reforms, but it does not mean that we cannot do more,” Collins said.
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