Bipartisan Blitz: House Unites to Dodge Shutdown, Drops Homeland Security

Paul Riverbank, 1/15/2026Congress unites on key funding bill, but Homeland Security remains a divisive, unresolved flashpoint.

If you’re keeping count, the package folded together money for the State Department, crucial national security initiatives, the Treasury, and the IRS, with a handful of other financial agencies drawn in too. Getting agreement on any new funding these days is no walk in the park. There were marathon negotiations behind closed doors, the kind of late-night sessions where aides shuffle back and forth and nobody is entirely sure what the final text will say until it shows up in their email.

Party leaders leaned in, smoothing out worries that had kept some members on the fence. “Careful work by all sides,” one veteran lawmaker told me, “but the real victory was in getting the usual skeptics to drop their objections, even if it was just this once.”

But no one should mistake this achievement for a flawless compromise. Not everything made it into the bill. The original plan had included funding for the Department of Homeland Security. That evaporated after a tragic incident in Minnesota—a federal immigration officer shooting and killing a woman—that set off a fresh round of debate over immigration policy. With Democrats pushing to tighten restrictions on enforcement officers and Republicans refusing to sign off, leadership yanked the Homeland Security provisions from the package. A separate bill may address the matter sometime soon, but there are no guarantees in this climate.

Tom Cole, the seasoned Appropriations Committee Chair, put it bluntly: “Let’s be honest, Homeland is political dynamite right now. We need to get the rest of the government running, then come back to that fight.” By his count, the finish line is in sight for the remaining agencies—at least on paper—but the real test is how to tackle the Homeland issue without triggering a political meltdown.

Some amendments crashed on the legislative rocks. One proposal sought to slash funding for Washington D.C.’s courts and target a pair of federal judges. Another took aim at the National Endowment for Democracy—both fizzled out after brief, impassioned floor debates. No major surprises, but a reminder of how difficult it is to get consensus even on relatively obscure federal programs.

Where does that leave us? Well, Congress has only managed to finish three of the twelve regular appropriations bills so far. There are still nine left, all looming with a January 30th deadline, unless Congress pushes through yet another stop-gap measure—what they call a “continuing resolution”—to keep the lights on temporarily. The bill passed by the House now heads to the Senate, where leadership isn’t wasting time and is expected to weigh it against a stack of unfinished business.

All this maneuvering is meant to ward off a shutdown that could slam everything from federal paychecks to passport processing. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called homeland security “one of the thorniest subjects on the table,” and he’s not exaggerating. The next few weeks demand finesse. If both sides keep talking—and resist falling back into their old habits—there’s a path toward keeping the government open, piece by piece.

Still, nobody’s taking bets just yet. Congressional tempers haven’t cooled for good, and the threat of a shutdown continues to hang over every vote. But for now, at least, Congress appears willing to push forward where it can, moving funding bills through a divided chamber one careful step at a time.

It’s not every day Capitol Hill feels united, but this week saw a rare surge of consensus ripple through the House of Representatives. Lawmakers, who’ve recently seemed more divided than ever, managed to rally behind a sweeping funding bill for the Treasury and State departments, notching up a decisive 341-79 vote. For those who watch Congress grind away most days, that margin felt almost uncanny—a strong indicator both parties recognized just how close the U.S. government is to another disruptive shutdown.If you’re keeping count, the package folded together money for the State Department, crucial national security initiatives, the Treasury, and the IRS, with a handful of other financial agencies drawn in too. Getting agreement on any new funding these days is no walk in the park. There were marathon negotiations behind closed doors, the kind of late-night sessions where aides shuffle back and forth and nobody is entirely sure what the final text will say until it shows up in their email.Party leaders leaned in, smoothing out worries that had kept some members on the fence. “Careful work by all sides,” one veteran lawmaker told me, “but the real victory was in getting the usual skeptics to drop their objections, even if it was just this once.”But no one should mistake this achievement for a flawless compromise. Not everything made it into the bill. The original plan had included funding for the Department of Homeland Security. That evaporated after a tragic incident in Minnesota—a federal immigration officer shooting and killing a woman—that set off a fresh round of debate over immigration policy. With Democrats pushing to tighten restrictions on enforcement officers and Republicans refusing to sign off, leadership yanked the Homeland Security provisions from the package. A separate bill may address the matter sometime soon, but there are no guarantees in this climate.Tom Cole, the seasoned Appropriations Committee Chair, put it bluntly: “Let’s be honest, Homeland is political dynamite right now. We need to get the rest of the government running, then come back to that fight.” By his count, the finish line is in sight for the remaining agencies—at least on paper—but the real test is how to tackle the Homeland issue without triggering a political meltdown.Some amendments crashed on the legislative rocks. One proposal sought to slash funding for Washington D.C.’s courts and target a pair of federal judges. Another took aim at the National Endowment for Democracy—both fizzled out after brief, impassioned floor debates. No major surprises, but a reminder of how difficult it is to get consensus even on relatively obscure federal programs.Where does that leave us? Well, Congress has only managed to finish three of the twelve regular appropriations bills so far. There are still nine left, all looming with a January 30th deadline, unless Congress pushes through yet another stop-gap measure—what they call a “continuing resolution”—to keep the lights on temporarily. The bill passed by the House now heads to the Senate, where leadership isn’t wasting time and is expected to weigh it against a stack of unfinished business.All this maneuvering is meant to ward off a shutdown that could slam everything from federal paychecks to passport processing. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called homeland security “one of the thorniest subjects on the table,” and he’s not exaggerating. The next few weeks demand finesse. If both sides keep talking—and resist falling back into their old habits—there’s a path toward keeping the government open, piece by piece.Still, nobody’s taking bets just yet. Congressional tempers haven’t cooled for good, and the threat of a shutdown continues to hang over every vote. But for now, at least, Congress appears willing to push forward where it can, moving funding bills through a divided chamber one careful step at a time.