The House on Thursday approved its final slate of fiscal 2026 government funding bills, passing a three-bill package 341-88 and a separate Department of Homeland Security measure 220-207, a milestone for Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., after Democrats objected to the DHS bill amid tensions following the fatal shooting of Minneapolis resident Renee Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer.
The House plans to combine the four measures with a two-bill package it passed last week and send the bundle to the Senate, which is expected to take up the legislation when it returns from recess next week, ahead of a Jan. 30 deadline.
The three-bill package funds the departments of War, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, Labor, Education, and related agencies.
The DHS bill drew the sharpest divide.
Leading Democrats opposed it, demanding tougher oversight and conduct standards for ICE officers.
The legislation includes a $115 million reduction for ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations, a 5,500-bed decrease in ICE detention beds, and a $1.8 billion cut to Border Patrol funding.
It also strengthens oversight through the Office of the Inspector General and the Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, voted against the DHS bill while saying she welcomed some of its changes but that "it's clear that more must be done."
"ICE believes it can act with impunity and is behaving accordingly," DeLauro said.
Only seven Democrats voted with Republicans to support the DHS measure, which would allow billions of dollars to continue flowing to the department.
Johnson, who has pushed lawmakers to complete full-year appropriations rather than rely on short-term extensions, called the effort "the most significant sign of progress in these halls in years" at a press conference this week.
"We're returning the appropriations process to a committee-led, member-driven approach, as it should be," Johnson said, arguing the bills avoid an overarching, leadership-negotiated omnibus.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said "significant progress has been achieved" to "fund the government in a way that's consistent with our values."
The account of the negotiations said it would be the first time new full-year funding levels have been approved for the entire federal government since then-President Joe Biden signed an omnibus appropriations bill in March 2024.
After the 2024 election, Congress opted for a full-year continuing resolution that extended those funding levels into the following fiscal year, even as some hard-line conservatives urged another yearlong extension rather than negotiating with Democrats.
Lawmakers also added a last-minute amendment aimed at the Senate, repealing a law that allowed senators to sue the government for $500,000 if they were not notified when law enforcement sought their phone records.
The provision followed subpoenas of members' phone records by then-special counsel Jack Smith in his 2020 election inquiry.
Some hard-line conservatives also raised objections about "community funding project" earmarks and about funding for government programs they said were wasteful.
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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