The House passed a three-bill minibus and a separate Department of Homeland Security measure to fund key agencies for Fiscal Year 2026, marking a win for Speaker Mike Johnson and House Republicans as they push to restore regular order in appropriations and advance an America First spending approach.
The vote late Thursday showed Republicans can still move major spending packages when they stick together. The minibus funds Defense, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, Labor, Education, and related programs, while DHS was handled as its own, contentious vote. Conservatives framed the outcome as evidence that Congress can avoid bloated omnibus deals and continuing resolutions by returning to committee-driven appropriations.
The House on Thursday approved its final slate of 2026 funding bills, overcoming Democratic demands and GOP divisions and marking a significant milestone for Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) as he’s sought to rebuild Congress’s “muscle memory” on government funding.
A three-bill minibus appropriations package passed the House by a vote of 341-88. The package funds the departments of Defense, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, Labor, Education and other related agencies.
The most contentious measure, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding bill, passed the House by a separate vote of 220-207. Democratic leaders opposed the bill as tensions flared in the wake of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer fatally shooting Minneapolis woman Renee Good.
Republicans touted the numbers: 341-88 for the main package and 220-207 on DHS. Those votes signal solid support inside the GOP conference and a willingness among some Democrats to cross party lines on parts of the package. The reality on the ground and the heat of protests haven’t changed the House outcome; leaders moved forward despite the noise.
The coverage of protests has been one-sided in parts of the media, and GOP voices pushed back hard. They pointed out facts left out by some outlets, including claims about the encounter that led to the deadly Minneapolis shooting. For House conservatives, the larger point was procedural: Congress finished twelve appropriations bills without folding into a single omnibus or another stopgap measure.
The House will combine the four bills with a two-bill minibus it passed last week and send the full package to the Senate. The upper chamber is expected to take up the bills when it returns from recess next week ahead of a Jan. 30 deadline.
Yes, the timeline is tight. The Senate faces a Jan. 30 deadline and will have to act quickly to avoid disruption. Republicans are realistic about the math: a 53-47 majority in the Senate means reaching cloture usually requires bipartisan support, and party-line votes alone won’t clear the hurdle. That puts pressure on senators to prioritize governing over performative opposition.
Speaker Mike Johnson used his platform to frame this as a return to normal ordering and fiscal responsibility. House leadership emphasized that these bills spend less than another continuing resolution and include reforms meant to cut waste and abuse. Conservatives also argue that aligning appropriations with the priorities of President Trump will replace what they see as careless, Biden-era spending.
There are pragmatic paths forward. Some Democrats already bucked party leaders to support funding in the House, and a few Senate Democrats could follow suit on cloture votes to avoid a partial shutdown. Republican negotiators will push for votes that keep the government open while protecting core conservative priorities like defense and border security.
Behind the scenes, appropriators worked months to craft text and line items that would attract enough support to pass. That committee-driven approach is the pitch Republicans are using: give members meaningful say through regular order rather than locking details into massive omnibus packages. It’s a procedural win they believe can be converted into sustained governing advantages.
The package now moves to the Senate, where outcomes remain uncertain but achievable with some bipartisan cooperation. Until then, conservatives will keep pressing the message that this was the sensible way to fund government operations—responsible, ordered, and accountable. The coming days will tell whether the upper chamber chooses to join Congress in finishing the job.
For crying out loud– do something—finish the job— that is why they were elected — to get the job done!!! Do the right thing!!