Senate Republicans and Democrats will head into separate lunches Wednesday for their first in-person conference meetings on how to avoid a partial government shutdown at the end of the week with partisan divisions over the Homeland Security bill reaching the brink amid a weather-shortened week. Democrats expect to come out of lunch with a firmer wish list of policy changes they want incorporated into the Homeland bill while Republicans are trying to come up with alternative solutions to address frustrations with President Donald J. Trump’s aggressive immigration enforcement agenda. Majority Leader John Thune (R-South Dakota) said he’s encouraging dialogue between the administration and Senate Democrats to reach “some mechanism whereby you don’t have to change the bill or split it out and have to send something back to the House.” He acknowledged members of his own conference would block any attempt to strip DHS funding from the six-bill appropriations package.
If the Senate alters the bill at all, it would have to be reapproved by the House, which is out on a prescheduled recess and has not announced plans to return before the deadline. In addition to DHS, the bill would fund the departments of Defense, Treasury, State, Health and Human Services, Labor, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, and Education. Should the bill not pass by the Friday night deadline, those agencies would be deprived of funding and enter a shutdown posture — meaning “nonessential” employees would be furloughed and “essential” employees would work without pay. Spending bills that President Trump already signed would keep the rest of the government open.
For today, the Senate is expected to consider the funding package. During Tuesday’s session, Leader Thune filed cloture on the motion to proceed to Cal. #302, H.R.7148, Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026. This cloture motion ripens during Thursday’s session.
