Overview
Ninety‑Six Percent Funded. Eleven of the twelve FY26 appropriations bills have now been enacted, funding roughly 96% of the federal government — a notable achievement for appropriators given the political dynamics of the past year. The lone holdout is the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) bill, which remains stalled amid ongoing political disputes.
The debate reflects increased scrutiny of immigration enforcement after recent high‑profile incidents, including fatal shootings of U.S. citizens, which have led Democrats to seek greater accountability in immigration enforcement and Republicans to push for stricter sanctuary city policies and additional protections for enforcement officials.
This clash of priorities has created a long list of contentious issues with little time to resolve them before the February 13thfunding deadline. Procedural hurdles in both chambers, coupled with an upcoming recess, further shorten the negotiating window. Some Republicans have floated another short‑term CR to buy time, while Democrats warn that repeated extensions will only prolong talks and delay needed reforms. Given the House GOP’s slim majority, Republicans remain skeptical about passing another short‑term CR without substantial Democratic support, which is unlikely.
Senator Katie Britt (R‑AL), Chair of the Senate Homeland Appropriations Subcommittee, has been working closely with Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) and the White House to find a compromise with Democrats. Meanwhile, Democratic leaders have coalesced around a reform package they want included in the funding bill and many of the proposed measures are meeting firm Republican resistance, highlighting the deep partisan divide. Leader Thune has called current Democratic demands “totally unrealistic,” but cautioned that he does see some room for negotiation. Ultimately, negotiating positions will be driven largely by the White House and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY).
As lawmakers look to kickstart negotiations, Leader Thune plans to file a CR for the bill on Monday; the CR’s duration will be contingent on how much progress has been made in negotiations. If talks stall, Republican leadership may have little choice but to pursue a year‑long CR for the department, though passing it would be a challenge on its own. While immigration enforcement agencies within DHS have sufficient resources to continue operations in a shutdown, other agencies such as FEMA and TSA lack comparable funding. Thus, while an additional partial government shutdown would not impact the agencies in the spotlight, it would still trigger widespread operational disruptions.
While this final mile of FY26 funding is politically challenging, appropriators can still claim a measured victory with the bulk of federal funding completed.
Focusing on FY27. Work on FY27 is already underway, even if current year DHS funding remains unresolved. The first FY27 hearing was held in the House this week, with two more hearings scheduled for next week. Member portals for appropriations requests are beginning to open in both the House and Senate, and some have already announced deadlines — the earliest we’ve seen is February 27th. In the House, Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK) is targeting early May markups, with the ambitious plan to advance all twelve appropriations bills through committee before the August recess.
Bottom line: FY27 has begun. With an election‑year calendar compressing the legislative process, stakeholders should be ready to submit any appropriations requests (funding or language) promptly, track portal openings closely, and anticipate earlier‑than‑usual committee action in both chambers.
