All Senate Democrats and a handful of Republicans voted Jan. 29 to block a House-passed package of six funding bills that must be resolved by 11:59 p.m. Jan. 30 to avoid a government shutdown.
The procedural vote failed 45-55, short of the 60 votes required before opening debate and setting up a final vote to send the measure to President Donald Trump’s desk.
U.S. Senate FAILS to advance funding bill to avert partial government shutdown, 45-55.
— CSPAN (@cspan) January 29, 2026
Government funding expires Friday at midnight for certain federal agencies. pic.twitter.com/Zed4o3pwou
The 47 Senate Democrats who opposed the package were joined by seven Republicans: Sens. Ted Budd of North Carolina, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Mike Lee of Utah, Ashley Moody of Florida, Rand Paul of Kentucky, Rick Scott of Florida, and Tommy Tuberville of Alabama.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., switched his vote to “no” at the last moment, a procedural move that allows the bill to be reconsidered.
The six-bill funding package would account for more than 75% of discretionary federal spending through the end of September. One bill funds the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), while the remaining five cover agencies such as the Department of Defense, the State Department, and the Department of Health and Human Services.
The sharp standoff has centered on DHS funding, particularly money for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Democrats, led by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., have demanded that any DHS funding be paired with new legislative limits on immigration enforcement tactics.
The push has intensified following two fatal shootings in Minneapolis this month involving federal immigration agents.
“Until ICE is properly reined in and overhauled legislatively, the DHS funding bill doesn’t have the votes to pass the Senate,” Schumer wrote Jan. 28.
The Senate is scheduled to take the first procedural vote on a funding package including DHS funding tomorrow.
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) January 28, 2026
Let me be clear: Until ICE is properly reined in and overhauled, the DHS funding bill won’t have the votes to pass the Senate.
Speaking to reporters that day after a closed-door caucus meeting, Schumer said Democrats are “united behind a set of commonsense policy goals,” including requiring federal agents to wear body cameras and not mask themselves and tightening warrant requirements for immigration enforcement actions.
Democrats have signaled openness to passing the five non-DHS funding bills. In a Jan. 29 X post, Senate Appropriations Vice Chair Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said DHS funding “must be split off so we can keep working on common-sense reforms” and added that talks were ongoing.
Republicans have accused Democrats of using national security funding as leverage, arguing that splitting the package could delay funding for the military and critical health programs. Any revised package would also have to clear the House, which is in recess until Feb. 2. House Republicans have already indicated they are unlikely to support a modified deal, FOX News reported.
If no agreement is reached, an impasse would halt non-essential government operations and potentially furlough thousands of workers — repeating the 43-day shutdown that ended Nov. 12, 2025.
Trump, however, has expressed confidence that a shutdown can still be avoided. According to The New York Times, Trump and Schumer moved late Jan. 28 toward a tentative framework that would temporarily carve DHS funding out of the broader package to allow negotiations on new restrictions for immigration enforcement officers.
Speaking during a Jan. 29 Cabinet meeting ahead of the vote, Trump said negotiations with Democrats were ongoing and described them as “very bipartisan.” He added that “we’re getting close.”