Government Funding Update
January 27, 2026
With just five days remaining before current government funding expires on January 31, it is uncertain if the government will remain open.
Why it matters: After the House passed the slate of funding bills, lawmakers were confident late last week that the Senate would act quickly to enact the legislation. However, in the wake of the ICE shooting in Minneapolis, Democrats, including key moderates, are vowing to vote down any bill that includes funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Why it’s important: If a government shutdown does occur this weekend, its important to note that it will be a partial shutdown in comparison to the one last fall.
To date, the following six bills listed below have passed into law, so the government would at least remain partially open if nothing is resolved before January 31.
The bills passed and the agencies they control that would remain open are listed below, you can read more about the passage of these bills here and here.
- Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration
- U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
- Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
- Legislative Branch,
- Congress & Related Offices
- Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, (MilCon-VA)
- Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
- Department of Defense – Military Construction
- Commerce, Justice, Science
- Department of Commerce
- Department of Justice
- NASA
- Energy and Water Development
- Department of Energy
- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers — Civil Works
- Interior and Environment
- National Park Service
- Bureau of Land Management
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
- Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
- U.S. Forest Service
- Indian Health Service (IHS)
Where we stand as of today;
- House Action: House Republicans passed their final funding bills on January 22, which funded the Defense, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, Labor, Education, and other related agencies.
- Senate Math: Passage in the Senate remains more complex, as at least seven Democrats will need to support the measure to reach the 60-vote threshold to break a filibuster. In the aftermath of the shooting this weekend, some Democrats are threatening not to pass any government funding bills as a protest against DHS/ICE.
However, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is advocating a different strategy, and would like to split the DHS bill out from the other government funding bills.