House Republicans managed to regroup on Wednesday, pushing forward two vital government funding bills and delivering a much-needed boost to Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., after a setback just a day prior.
The House voted 213-210, strictly along party lines, to approve a procedural rule for a "minibus" package that merges a financial services and general government bill with a national security and State Department bill, paving the way for a final vote on Thursday.
Passing such procedural rules has turned into a grueling task for Johnson, who has endured six rule failures since assuming the speakership in 2023, with Tuesday’s collapse of a GOP bill highlighting persistent issues of party cohesion and attendance.
Determined conservatives, eager to shape spending priorities, successfully added two amendments to the minibus during a Tuesday Rules Committee meeting, the Washington Examiner reported.
This minibus, the second since last year’s unprecedented government shutdown, is expected to gain bipartisan support, but a tougher fight lies ahead next week with the last package covering Defense, Labor-Health and Human Services, and Transportation-Housing Urban Development.
Republican appropriators intend to include funding for the Department of Homeland Security in that bundle, though Democrats insist on a separate bill, fueled by pressure to limit or defund Immigration and Customs Enforcement after a disputed officer-involved shooting of a U.S. citizen in Minneapolis.
The partisan divide on this issue threatens to bog down negotiations at a critical juncture.
Appropriators are racing against a Jan. 30 deadline to pass all 12 funding bills for fiscal 2026, with six already approved and six still to go in the next two weeks.
The timeline tightens further with the Senate on recess next week and the House breaking the final week of January, leaving little margin for delays or missteps.
House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., acknowledged, "Another continuing resolution might be necessary," even suggesting a full-year stopgap for Homeland Security as a fallback.
Cole’s remark, "We’re working to get this done," rings hollow when temporary patches like continuing resolutions seem to be the go-to move instead of decisive action.
With lawmakers like Roy and Crane standing firm on amendments, the message from the GOP base is loud: stop funding bloated bureaucracies and progressive pipe dreams with hard-earned taxpayer dollars.
If Johnson and his team can’t bridge these internal divides and beat the deadline, the public will once again foot the bill for Washington’s inability to govern with discipline and purpose.