BY EMMANUEL OGBONNA
Congress has moved past the midpoint in approving federal funding for the current budget year, but a contentious fight over immigration enforcement now looms as the biggest obstacle to finishing the job before a fast-approaching deadline.
The Senate on Thursday overwhelmingly approved a package of three spending bills, pushing lawmakers closer to completing all 12 annual appropriations measures for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1. The legislation passed by a strong bipartisan vote of 82–15 and now heads to President Donald Trump for his signature.
With that vote, six of the 12 spending bills have cleared both chambers of Congress, a significant step toward stabilizing government operations after months of disruption. Lawmakers are working under a Jan. 30 deadline set by a temporary funding measure that ended a 43-day government shutdown in November. Failure to complete the remaining bills by then could trigger another lapse in funding, though the risk has diminished as more agencies secure full-year appropriations.
The bills approved this week would provide funding through the end of the fiscal year for major departments including Agriculture, Commerce, Energy, Interior and Justice. Should Congress stumble later this month, those agencies would remain open, substantially reducing the impact of any potential shutdown.
Even so, leaders in both parties say they are determined to finish all 12 bills and avoid another funding crisis. The House earlier passed a separate two-bill package, further narrowing the list of unresolved measures and increasing pressure to reach final agreements in the coming weeks.
“Our goal is to get all of these bills signed into law,” said Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, the Republican chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee. She emphasized a desire to move away from short-term fixes and shutdown brinkmanship, saying lawmakers should reject temporary funding extensions that lock in outdated priorities and instead deliver stable, full-year budgets.
Despite that momentum, negotiations are expected to become far more difficult as attention turns to the Department of Homeland Security, whose funding bill remains unresolved amid heightened political tensions following a fatal shooting in Minneapolis involving an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent.
Plans to bring the Homeland Security spending bill to the House floor this week were shelved as lawmakers reassessed their strategy in the aftermath of the shooting, which left a Minnesota woman dead. Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma, the Republican chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, said the decision to delay consideration of the bill was meant to “buy some time” as Congress weighs how to respond.
Democrats are pressing for new restrictions and oversight measures tied to funding for ICE, arguing that recent enforcement actions and the Minneapolis shooting underscore the need for stronger safeguards. Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, said her party is seeking “guardrails” that would accompany any funding for the agency.
“We can’t deal with the lawlessness and terrorizing of communities,” DeLauro said, adding that negotiations remain fluid as both sides trade proposals.
The dispute reflects broader anger among Democrats over the Trump administration’s aggressive deportation campaign, which has focused heavily on cities in Democratic-led states. The shooting, which federal officials described as an act of self-defense but local leaders criticized as reckless and unnecessary, has intensified demands for accountability on Capitol Hill.
Roughly 70 House Democrats have signed on to an effort to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, while others are pushing for specific policy changes, including a requirement that ICE agents wear body cameras during operations. Democratic leaders argue that such measures are necessary to ensure immigration enforcement agencies adhere to the same standards as other law enforcement bodies.
“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,” House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said. He added that Democrats want to bring ICE “under control” and ensure it operates within the law rather than as an agency insulated from accountability.
The Congressional Progressive Caucus, which includes nearly 100 Democratic lawmakers, has taken an even firmer stance, formally opposing any funding for immigration enforcement within the Department of Homeland Security unless Congress enacts what it calls meaningful and significant reforms to enforcement practices.
Republicans, meanwhile, warn that any major changes to the Homeland Security bill would require approval from the White House. Cole said one possible path forward would be to allow Democrats a separate vote on the Homeland Security funding measure before bundling it with other spending bills for consideration by the Senate. A similar procedural maneuver was used earlier this year to advance a previous appropriations package through the House.
Still, the options facing Democrats are limited. Passing a short-term continuing resolution to fund Homeland Security at current levels would give the administration broad discretion over how the money is spent, potentially undermining efforts to impose new constraints on ICE.
At the same time, efforts to eliminate funding for the agency entirely would have little practical effect on overall enforcement spending. A tax cut and border security law enacted last summer provides roughly $170 billion for immigration enforcement over the next four years, ensuring substantial resources regardless of the outcome of the annual appropriations fight.
Political considerations also weigh heavily. Any move to strip funding from ICE could place vulnerable Democrats in difficult reelection contests, as Republicans are likely to accuse them of failing to support law enforcement.
As the January deadline draws closer, congressional leaders face a narrowing window to bridge those divides. While progress on half of the government’s funding bills has eased immediate fears of another shutdown, the battle over Homeland Security spending now threatens to dominate the final stretch of budget negotiations on Capitol Hill.
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