By Emmanuel Bobby
President Donald Trump and Senate Democrats reached an agreement Thursday to prevent a prolonged shutdown of most of the federal government, according to statements from Trump and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s office.
Under the deal, funding for all federal agencies except the Department of Homeland Security would be extended through September. DHS would instead operate under a two-week stopgap funding bill, giving lawmakers additional time to negotiate changes sought by Democrats following public outrage over the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens by immigration enforcement officers in Minneapolis.
Senators initially hoped to vote on the agreement Thursday night but were unable to resolve several minor outstanding issues. A vote is now expected Friday. The House, which returns to Washington on Monday, would then need to pass the legislation before it can be sent to Trump for his signature.
Funding for multiple agencies is set to lapse at 12:01 a.m. Saturday. However, if the measure clears both chambers quickly, the disruption is expected to be limited, as most federal employees do not work on weekends.
Trump urged lawmakers from both parties to support the bipartisan agreement.
“The only thing that can slow our country down is another long and damaging government shutdown,” Trump wrote Thursday night on Truth Social.
“Republicans and Democrats in Congress have come together to get the vast majority of the government funded until September, while at the same time providing an extension to the Department of Homeland Security,” he added. “Hopefully, both Republicans and Democrats will give a very much needed bipartisan ‘YES’ vote.”
The agreement mirrors a framework senators from both parties discussed a day earlier: a short-term funding extension for DHS while negotiations continue over changes to the department and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, alongside longer-term funding for the rest of the government.
Lawmakers agreed to a two-week continuing resolution that would keep DHS funded through Feb. 13, just before Congress leaves for a weeklong recess, according to sources familiar with the talks.
“If Republicans don’t do anything for two weeks, DHS shuts down and there’s little incentive for us to reopen without guardrails on ICE,” a Democratic aide said.
The breakthrough came only hours after the Senate rejected a sweeping $1.2 trillion funding package passed by the House last week. That bill bundled six appropriations measures together, including funding for DHS. The Senate vote failed 45–55, with eight Republicans joining all Democrats in opposition—well short of the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster.
Democrats had warned in advance they would not support the House package without stronger safeguards on DHS and ICE operations. The level of Republican opposition further underscored the leverage Democrats held in the negotiations.
“This is a moment of truth for the United States of America,” Schumer said on the Senate floor before the deal was announced. “What the nation witnessed on Saturday in the streets of Minneapolis was a moral abomination. What ICE is doing, outside the law, is state-sanctioned thuggery, and it must stop. Congress has both the authority and the moral obligation to act.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said he deferred to the White House to finalize an agreement, telling reporters he expected negotiations between the administration and Senate Democrats to produce enough votes for passage.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., confirmed extensive discussions took place ahead of the deal.
“I was with the president for about three hours yesterday in the Oval Office, and we were on the phone with Chuck Schumer, Leader Thune, and Tom Homan,” Johnson said Wednesday evening. “There was a lot of discussion. I thought it was productive, and I certainly hope the shutdown can be avoided.”
Funding for several major departments—including Defense, State, Treasury, Transportation, Health and Human Services, Education, and Homeland Security—expires at 11:59 p.m. ET Friday. Those agencies are expected to briefly shut down if Congress does not act in time, since any Senate-passed legislation must still clear the House.
Earlier Thursday, during his first Cabinet meeting of the new year, Trump emphasized his desire to avoid a shutdown, saying, “We’ll work in a very bipartisan way, I believe, not to have a shutdown. We don’t want to shut down.”