The House of Representatives has secured a crucial win by passing its final 2026 funding bills on Thursday, cutting through a tangle of Democratic resistance and Republican infighting.
This legislative package, a notable feather in the cap for Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., encompasses a three-bill minibus funding Defense, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, Labor, Education, and related agencies with a 341-88 vote, alongside a separate, divisive Department of Homeland Security bill that squeaked through at 220-207.
Critics from across the aisle have voiced strong objections, especially regarding the DHS funding, which ignited controversy following a tragic encounter involving an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Minneapolis.
As tempers flared, the House pushed forward with these essential bills, set to combine with a two-bill package approved last week and move to the Senate ahead of a Jan. 30 deadline, as detailed by The Hill.
Speaker Johnson framed this as a return to congressional integrity, stating, "We're returning the appropriations process to a committee-led, member-driven approach, as it should be."
While his statement brims with optimism, one has to question whether this is truly a structural shift or just a well-timed pat on the back for his leadership.
The DHS bill became the lightning rod of the package, with many Democrats arguing it fell short of imposing necessary restraints on ICE after the fatal shooting of Minneapolis resident Renee Good.
House Appropriations Committee ranking member Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., sharply criticized the agency, declaring, "ICE believes it can act with impunity and is behaving accordingly."
Even with reductions like $115 million less for ICE operations and a $1.8 billion cut to Border Patrol funding, the reforms feel like a Band-Aid on a wound that needs far more serious attention.
This funding breakthrough follows a brutal fiscal year that started with the longest government shutdown ever recorded, dragging on for 43 days before November's temporary measures brought some relief.
The holiday season, coupled with heated debates over health care policies and other pressing matters, squeezed lawmakers’ schedules, yet appropriators worked tirelessly into this month to draft and pass the remaining nine bills.
House Appropriations Committee Chair Tom Cole, R-Okla., underscored the determination behind this push, stating, "We aren’t here for just another stopgap temporary fix." His words reflect a commitment to long-term solutions, though the jury’s still out on whether this momentum can hold.
Despite a rare bipartisan nod to progress, with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., admitting "significant progress has been achieved," hard-line conservatives voiced frustration over what they see as wasteful community project earmarks and unnecessary government programs.
A last-minute amendment to scrap a Senate-backed law allowing senators to sue over undisclosed phone record subpoenas added another layer of tension, exposing raw nerves between the House and Senate over past grievances tied to investigations.
Ultimately, passing these bills signals a fleeting glimpse of functionality in a Congress often bogged down by gridlock, though the Senate’s response remains a looming question mark. The road to full government funding is far from smooth, and with partisan divides still simmering, particularly over DHS policies, this achievement might be more of a ceasefire than a lasting peace.