After months of gridlock, the House has finally pushed through its last batch of 2026 funding bills, marking a pivotal moment for congressional leadership.
On Thursday, the House passed its final set of appropriations for 2026, a significant step for Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) in restoring regular order to government funding. A three-bill minibus package covering Defense, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, Labor, Education, and related agencies sailed through with a 341-88 vote.
Separately, a contentious Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding bill passed narrowly at 220-207, despite strong Democratic opposition fueled by recent tensions over an ICE officer’s fatal shooting of Minneapolis woman Renee Good.
The debate over these bills has sparked sharp divisions, particularly around the DHS measure. While the broader funding package moves Congress closer to full-year appropriations, the DHS bill has become a lightning rod for deeper frustrations, the Hill reported.
Let’s start with the big picture: funding the government is Congress’s core duty, yet it’s been a mess for years, with stopgap measures and shutdowns like the historic 43-day closure earlier this fiscal year. The House, combining these four bills with a two-bill minibus passed last week, is now headed to the Senate next week before a Jan. 30 deadline, feels like a rare win for process over politics. Still, the road to get here—through November’s short-term fix and December’s holiday crunch—shows how fragile this progress is.
Now, about that DHS bill: Democrats are up in arms, and not without cause, after the tragic death of Renee Good at the hands of an ICE officer. Liberals demanded stricter oversight of ICE, arguing the agency operates without enough accountability. While the bill does cut $115 million from ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations, reduce 5,500 detention beds, and slash $1.8 billion from Border Patrol, many on the left say it’s not nearly enough.
House Appropriations Committee ranking member Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) captured the frustration, stating, “It’s clear that more must be done.” She’s not wrong to point out lingering issues, but expecting sweeping ICE reform in a single funding bill during a divided Congress might be a pipe dream. The reality is, only seven Democrats crossed the aisle to support it, showing how deep the partisan split runs.
On the flip side, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) hailed the votes as “the most significant sign of progress in these halls in years.” That’s a bold claim when hard-line conservatives are grumbling about so-called “community funding project” earmarks and programs they deem wasteful. If anything, Johnson’s win is more about grit than unity, pushing through new funding levels instead of another continuing resolution.
Look at the DHS reforms—strengthened oversight through the Office of the Inspector General and the Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties sounds good on paper. But when push comes to shove, will these changes rein in the kind of tragic incidents that took Renee Good’s life? Skeptics on both sides have their doubts, and for good reason.
Then there’s the last-minute amendment to repeal a law letting senators sue for $500,000 over unnotified phone record subpoenas—a jab at the Senate after Republican senators slipped it into a prior shutdown-ending bill. It’s a petty but unanimous addition, showing even in victory, the House can’t resist a partisan poke. Expect the Senate to feel the heat when it returns.
Hard-line conservatives aren’t thrilled either, bristling at what they see as unnecessary spending in these bills. Their push to extend old funding levels was overruled by Johnson and appropriators like Chair Tom Cole (R-Okla.), who deserve credit for grinding through months of negotiations. Still, the discontent signals future battles over fiscal restraint.
The DHS bill, for all its flaws, keeps billions flowing to critical security operations—a necessity in uncertain times. Cutting Border Patrol funding by $1.8 billion might please progressive critics, but it risks stretching an already thin line at a time when border security remains a top concern for many Americans. Balance, not ideology, should guide these decisions.
Stepping back, this isn’t just about DHS or earmarks; it’s about whether Congress can do its job without the constant threat of shutdowns. The fiscal year started with the longest government shutdown in history, and lawmakers barely squeezed through the remaining nine bills this month amid holiday distractions and other debates. That’s not a sustainable model.
For taxpayers tired of Washington’s dysfunction, seeing all 12 appropriations bills near the finish line offers a glimmer of hope. Yet, with the Senate still to weigh in and partisan wounds fresh over DHS, this could be less a turning point and more a brief ceasefire. The real test is whether this momentum holds.
Johnson’s focus on a committee-led process over backroom omnibus deals is a nod to transparency, something long overdue. But when lives like Renee Good’s are lost, and trust in agencies like ICE hangs by a thread, funding bills alone won’t heal the divide. Congress must dig deeper for solutions, not just dollars.
