House passes spending package as progressives threaten DHS funding over ICE
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
The House of Representatives passed a nearly $80 billion spending package Wednesday evening, taking an important step toward averting a government shutdown at the end of this month.
The package combines two of Congress’ 12 annual appropriations bills into something called a “van.” This includes funding for the Department of State and related national security, as well as federal financial services and general government operations.
But there are still outstanding questions about funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), with progressives threatening to withhold support from any such bill unless it is paired with significant reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The push comes from the left in response to an ICE agent shooting Renee Nicole Good, 37, a U.S. citizen, when she came into physical contact with a law enforcement official who was driving her car and then fatally shot her.
HOUSE PASSES NEARLY $180 BILLION FUNDING PACKAGE AFTER CONSERVATIVE REBELLION AGAINST FRAUD FEARS IN MINNESOTA
Representative Ilhan Omar speaks at a news conference with other members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus about Department of Homeland Security funding and reform efforts on January 13, 2026 in Washington. (Nathan Posner/Anatolia via Getty Images)
Partisan divisions have erupted over the narrative, with GOP officials like DHS Secretary Kristi Noem saying the agent acted in self-defense while Democrats on Capitol Hill called for a criminal investigation.
DHS funding was initially expected to be part of that minibus, but House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., told reporters earlier this week that he wanted to see the bill as part of the final package, which is also expected to include funding for the War Department, Department of Transportation, Department of Labor, Department of Education and Department of Health and Human Services, among others.
But the panel’s top Democrat, Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., told reporters Tuesday that she would like to see DHS funding as a separate bill.
“She should be on her own,” DeLauro said. “It needs to be separate.”
ON JANUARY 30, AS LOCKDOWN FEARS INCREASED, CONGRESS ANNOUNCED A $174 BILLION SPENDING BILL
Meanwhile, D-Minn. Representative Ilhan Omar announced that the Congressional Progressive Caucus has officially threatened to oppose any DHS funding that does not change immigration enforcement policy.
“Our caucus members will oppose all funding for immigration enforcement in any appropriations bill until meaningful reforms are enacted to end militarized policing practices. We cannot and must not continue to fund institutions that operate with impunity,” he told reporters.
House Speaker Mike Johnson in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, December 2, 2025 (Yuri Gripas/CNP/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
But the bill passed Wednesday had broad bipartisan support, as expected.
All federal spending bills that emerged after last year’s government shutdown are a product of bipartisan debate between the House and Senate.
Senate races to prevent government shutdown over statute of limitations and lingering issues
The latest package’s federal funding totals just over $76 billion and heads to the Senate for approval before heading to President Donald Trump’s desk.
The State Department and national security bill includes $850 million for the “America First Opportunity Fund,” which aims to provide funds for the Secretary of State to respond to potential unforeseen circumstances.
While both Republicans and Democrats claimed different victories on the legislation, as House Appropriations Committee Republicans summarized: invoice It supports “President Trump’s America First foreign policy by eliminating wasteful spending on DEI or woke programming, climate change mandates, and divisive gender ideologies.”
Democrats said the bill “supports women globally” by “protecting dual family planning and United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) funding” and pointed to $6.8 billion for a new account that “supports activities previously funded under Development Assistance.”
The bill also provides millions in security assistance to Israel and Taiwan, as well as other global partners around the world.
The second bill, according to Republicans, would provide just over $13 billion to the U.S. Treasury for the remainder of fiscal year 2026, while also containing a provision that prevents the IRS from “targeting individuals or groups for exercising their First Amendment rights or ideological beliefs.”
It also provides $872 million in discretionary funding for the Executive Office of the President and $9.69 billion for the Federal Judiciary.
CLICK TO DOWNLOAD FOX NEWS APPLICATION
Meanwhile, across the Capitol, the Senate is expected to vote and pass three previous bill funding packages before leaving Washington, D.C., for a week-long recess on Thursday.
Neither side appears willing to push the government into another shutdown; Senate Democrats in particular see the package as an opportunity to fund many of their own priorities. But there is growing consensus that a short-term funding patch will be needed to allow lawmakers to complete work on the difficult DHS bill.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R.S.D., said, “Homeland is obviously the toughest one, and if we can’t reach an agreement, it’s possible there could be some type of CR that would fund some of these bills for next year.” he said.
Bipartisan funding talks are still ongoing, though; This is a far cry from the government funding deadline of October. But MPs in the upper house will not be able to consider the two package of bills until they return towards the end of the month.
