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The federal government is shutting down for the second time in six months after Congress failed to reach an agreement on the annual budget on time.
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is expected to notify federal agencies to begin preparations for the shutdown as soon as midnight on January 31, although unlike last time, the government is only entering a partial shutdown this weekend.
This is because Congress was able to pass legislation fully funding certain areas – for example, the Department of Agriculture, the Legislative Branch, and the Department of Justice – while the majority of federal spending is still not earmarked.
Senate Democrats walked away from a bipartisan deal to fully fund the federal government for the remainder of fiscal year 2026 amid President Donald Trump’s increase in federal law enforcement in Minneapolis.
Graham blocks Trump-backed spending plan, calls it ‘bad deal’ as shutdown looms
The government is in partial shutdown after Congress failed to pass an agreement on federal funding by a January 30 deadline. (Kevin Carter/Getty Images; Fox News graphic)
Federal officers shot and killed two US citizens in a Midwest city during separate demonstrations against Trump’s immigration crackdown. In response, Democrats threatened to block a massive federal funding bill, including dollars for the War, Labor, Health and Human Services, Transportation, and other departments, unless funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was stripped away.
That means prolonged closures could cause airline delays, put active-duty troops at risk of not receiving pay and even limit some Medicaid and Medicare services.
Senate Democrats have struck a new deal with the White House that will fund all but DHS, which accounts for the majority of federal spending, through Sept. 30. DHS would be kept running at current spending levels with a two-week extension to give Congress time to hammer out a compromise that would include tighter reins on immigration enforcement agencies within the department’s purview.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., hold a joint news conference at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 8, 2026. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)
President Donald Trump praised the funding truce, which he signed with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., in a post on Truth Social. Did it with. He urged Republicans to support it, and warned that “the only thing that can slow our country is another lengthy and damaging government shutdown.”
Still, it was a bitter pill to swallow for some Senate Republicans who were already disappointed with the underlying, core package. A handful of people were unhappy with the billions provision attached to this law.
And Senator Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., was angry over the House’s inclusion of a provision that would allow senators to sue for up to $500,000 if their phone records were subpoenaed by former special counsel Jack Smith.
Dems’ DHS shutdown threatens to hit FEMA, TSA while keeping immigration funding intact
Senator Lindsey Graham, R.S.C. Speaking during a news conference at the US Capitol in Washington, DC on July 31, 2024. (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)
Graham said, “You upset me, Speaker Johnson. I won’t forget it.” “I’ve got a lot of good friends in the House. If you think I’m going to give it up, you don’t really know me.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., was able to quell opposition and advance the amended package with the help of Senate Democrats. Although the deal passed the Senate, it must still be taken up in the House.
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The House passed the original federal funding plan, which Democrats abandoned in late January, but will have to vote on it again after the Senate amended it.
That means the duration of this shutdown will depend on how long it takes House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to get Republicans and Democrats around the legislation next week.
