House approves final spending bills
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.), right, answer a question at a news conference at the Capitol Visitor Center following a meeting of the House Republican Conference on Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026.
Tom Williams | CQ-Roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images
As the partial federal government shutdown approaches on Jan. 30, the House of Representatives passed the final set of outstanding government funding bills on Thursday.
The four bills account for the largest portion of government spending, totaling nearly $1.2 trillion. They would finance ministries of defense; Health and Human Services; Homeland Security; workforce; Housing and Urban Development; public transportation; and Education.
The Homeland Security bill passed 220-207, while the other three approved 341-88 as part of a package known as the “van.”
The bills represent the final quartet of 12 annual appropriations bills needed to fund the government and avoid a partial shutdown on Jan. 30. The Senate must approve them, along with two other House-passed funding bills, before they head to President Donald Trump’s desk for signature.
The Senate doesn’t return until next week, and the winter storm approaching Washington over the weekend threatens to complicate those plans.
House lawmakers were expected to pass the bill on Thursday; Lawmakers were desperate to prevent another shutdown after a record 43-day shutdown last year.
Despite bipartisan agreement to avoid another shutdown, some bills still face serious hurdles in the Senate.
Democrats warned they would not support a bill that would fund the Department of Homeland Security after Immigration and Customs Enforcement fatally shot a U.S. citizen in Minnesota earlier this month. The Homeland Bill was being considered separately from the other three bills in the Parliament due to political danger.
Midwestern Republicans, meanwhile, have requested that a provision be included in the spending package to allow year-round sales of gasoline containing a heavy ethanol blend, known as E15. Fuel is currently restricted during the summer months due to smog concerns, but this restriction is frequently waived.
Rather than appease Republicans, House Republican leadership agreed to congressionally create an “E-15 Rural Domestic Energy Council.”
Trump told Fox Business on Thursday “thinks[s] “We will likely face another Democratic shutdown,” but did not specify whether he was referring to the deadline at the end of this month.
