FY26 Appropriations Update

Last Tuesday, Congress passed, and President Trump signed, a Senate-revised appropriations minibus, bringing an end to a brief partial government shutdown. The bill fully funds all federal agencies and programs for the remainder of FY 2026 (ending on September 30), except for those covered by the Homeland Security bill. Homeland Security funding was extended at FY 2024 levels until midnight Friday.

In the preliminary procedural vote, President Trump managed to secure support from all but one Republican, allowing the chamber to proceed with consideration of the bill. However, he had less success with the final vote on the bill itself, as 21 far-right Republicans voted against it. Despite this, the bill narrowly passed 217-214, aided by 21 Democrats from the party’s leadership and a number of vulnerable members.

While the process took time and was marked by two government shutdowns (including the longest in history), Congress has made progress on FY 2026 appropriations compared to last year. The last regular spending legislation was passed in March 2024 for FY 2024. However, no FY 2025 appropriations bills were passed, and Congress relied on short-term funding measures in September and December 2024, followed by a full-year continuing resolution in March 2025 that largely kept non-defense spending at FY 2024 levels.

Republicans will need Democratic support to pass the final FY 2026 appropriations bill in the Senate. Democratic leaders have outlined conditions for their support, including 10 proposed reforms to ICE activities, such as requiring immigration agents to secure judicial warrants before entering private property, verifying that detained individuals are not U.S. citizens, prohibiting agents from wearing masks, mandating the use of body cameras, restricting immigration enforcement near sensitive locations (like hospitals, schools, and polling places), and banning racial profiling. Republicans have rejected these proposals as unrealistic.

It’s unlikely that a deal will be reached this week, or even at all. Both sides prefer to keep Homeland Security departments and programs funded, as the bill covers agencies like ICE, Customs and Border Protection, TSA, the Coast Guard, and FEMA. Leadership may attempt to buy more time for negotiations with a short-term stopgap funding bill, but this would likely require visible progress toward a compromise. It’s also possible that House Republicans may try to push the Senate by passing a full-year Homeland Security appropriations bill before the end of the week. However, any partisan bill passed by the House would likely be blocked in the Senate. Ultimately, Congress may need to settle for a full-year continuation of FY 2025 spending levels.