A government funding package failed to advance on Thursday as Congress races to avoid a partial shutdown of federal operations. The Senate voted 55‑45 against moving forward with a group of six appropriations bills that would fund much of the government, including the departments of Homeland Security (DHS), State, Health and Human Services (HHS), and Defense.
Unless lawmakers can reach a deal by the end of Friday, parts of the federal government could shut down. The House of Representatives had already passed the combined spending bills and then left for recess, expecting the Senate to complete the process. However, opposition in the Senate prevented the legislation from progressing.
The unsteady path toward passage grew more complicated in the wake of the death of Alex Pretti, a protester in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Many Senate Democrats have said they will not support advancing the package as long as DHS funding is included in its current form. They are demanding additional restrictions on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as part of any funding deal.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said “strong legislation to rein in ICE” is necessary and urged the Republican majority to address those concerns. Senate Majority Leader John Thune described negotiations over DHS funding as “trending in the right direction,” but the impasse remained unresolved on Thursday.
A group of Republican senators also opposed moving the spending package forward, though for different reasons. Sens. Ted Budd, Ron Johnson, Tommy Tuberville, Mike Lee, Rand Paul, Rick Scott, and Ashley Moody voted against advancing the bills. Some of those senators are pushing to reshape the DHS funding bill itself, while others want deeper overall spending cuts.
With the Senate unable to advance the measures and the House out of session until Monday, the likelihood of a government shutdown appeared to grow. Sources familiar with internal deliberations said House GOP leaders planned to meet Thursday to discuss next steps, but that hard‑line members in the House are prepared to complicate leadership’s efforts to pass the funding bills again.
Democrats may be willing to support a short‑term continuing resolution to extend funding briefly, but only if it buys time to complete negotiations on a new DHS funding bill. After the failed vote, Thune signaled that Senate leaders could bring the full package back for consideration if Republicans and the Trump administration can reach an agreement with Democratic negotiators.
