The House advanced a stopgap funding package in a narrow procedural vote, setting up a final decision as lawmakers seek to reopen shuttered parts of the federal government.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
The House of Representatives on Feb. 3 advanced a funding package covering several federal agencies, taking a step toward ending a partial government shutdown that has now stretched into its fourth day.
The measure cleared a key procedural hurdle by a 217–215 vote, largely along party lines, and now heads to a final floor vote. Its passage marked progress toward restoring funding, but also highlighted sharp divisions over immigration enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security.
The legislation would provide full-year funding through the end of the fiscal year for the departments of Defense, Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development. Funding for the Department of Homeland Security would be extended only temporarily, through Feb. 13.
Democrats largely opposed the package, including members of party leadership, arguing that DHS funding should be conditioned on reforms to immigration enforcement practices. With little Democratic support expected, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., relied almost entirely on his narrow Republican majority to move the bill forward. In a final vote, Johnson can afford only one Republican defection if Democrats remain unified in opposition.
Opposition from Democrats was forceful during a Feb. 2 Rules Committee hearing that sent the bill to the House floor. Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., the committee’s ranking member, criticized the measure and said he could not support extending DHS funding without changes.
“I will not vote for business as usual while masked agents break into people’s homes without a judicial warrant, in violation of the Fourth Amendment,” McGovern said, objecting to the executive branch’s use of administrative warrants rather than court-issued judicial warrants.
One senior Democrat broke with her party. Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, chairwoman of the House Appropriations Committee, said she would back the package because it includes five full-year funding bills that Democrats have generally supported.
“I will support this package,” DeLauro said, arguing that a short-term extension of DHS funding preserves leverage for Democrats to press for reforms later. Without the extension, she said, Democrats would lose the ability to apply pressure during negotiations over a full-year DHS funding bill.
McGovern reiterated his opposition after the hearing, saying he did not want to approve additional funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement without firm restrictions in place.
“I personally cannot bring myself to go for one more cent for ICE without some serious guardrails put in place,” he said, adding that he believes Democrats currently have more leverage than they would after a short-term extension expires.
The measure also faced objections from some Republicans, who criticized the bill for not including the SAVE Act, legislation that would require voter identification in federal elections.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., initially opposed the package but later reversed her position. She said she had been informed that Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., would bring the bill to the Senate floor, forcing opponents to mount a “standing filibuster” rather than blocking it through procedural means.
The House is expected to take a final vote on the package as lawmakers weigh competing priorities amid mounting pressure to bring the partial shutdown to an end.
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