Partial Shutdown-Ending Deal Faces Bipartisan Resistance in the House

The House has an opportunity to end a partial government shutdown.

The Senate approved the spending deal Friday evening, but because the White House, Republicans and Democrats agreed to modify the package, it has to go back to the House. A partial shutdown began over the weekend, and the pressure is on to end it quickly before impacts are felt at agencies that now lack funding.

Already, bill opponents on both sides of the aisle are causing problems for the speaker.

On House Speaker Mike Johnson’s right flank, a band of conservatives are demanding changes to the Senate-approved spending bill. The problem is the Senate’s package, which now includes five full-year appropriations bills, stripped out Fiscal Year 2026 funding for the Department of Homeland Security and replaced it with a continuing resolution, or CR, that would maintain the department’s current spending levels for two weeks.

“THE PROPOSED SENATE SPENDING PLAN TO CARVE OUT THE DHS FUNDING IS ‘LUDICROUS’,” conservative Rep. Ralph Norman texted NOTUS. “THE TWO WEEK TIMELINE ALLOWS THE SOCIALIST LEFT TO ‘DEMOGUE’ & ‘BERATE’ OUR BRAVE MEN & WOMEN OF ICE ALOND WITH DIRECTOR NOEM AND WE SHOULD NOT ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN.”

Two dozen conservatives already opposed elements of the spending package when the House approved it in January. Several objected to the cost and wanted additional immigration reforms. Norman, who voted for the appropriations package, is now opposed to the Senate’s reworked legislation, spelling trouble for Johnson.

That internal friction is especially problematic for Johnson because he knows that he cannot count on Democrats to make up for lost conservative support.

“We have a logistical challenge of getting everyone in town and because of the conversation I had with Hakeem Jeffries, I know that we’ve got to pass a rule and probably do this mostly on our own,” Johnson told Fox News on Sunday.

Because Johnson is not expecting much Democratic support for the package, he cannot streamline passage by securing two-thirds of the House’s support through a process known as a suspension of the rules. Therefore, Johnson will have to pass a rule, a typically party-line procedural vote required to advance legislation, that cannot meet the two-thirds vote threshold.

The House Rules Committee will convene Monday at 4 p.m. to begin consideration of the rule, likely teeing up a Tuesday vote on final passage, at earliest.

Making matters harder for Johnson, a Democrat on Saturday won the special election in Texas to replace the late Rep. Sylvester Turner, shrinking the speaker’s majority to just one vote. Johnson will need near unanimity and strong attendance to pass a party-line rule.

President Donald Trump is already urging House Republicans to get on board with the package. The president has historically been key to Johnson’s whip operation.

It remains unclear how many Democrats are willing to vote for the package. About half of Senate Democrats got on board last week. However, the deal was brokered between Senate Democratic leadership and the White House, not House Democrats.

Still, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries during a Friday press conference signaled he is open to supporting the legislation.

“Democrats in the Senate, led by Chuck Schumer, supported by the House, made a clear demand: Separate out the five bills that clearly have bipartisan support,” Jeffries said. “And then separately, we can deal with making sure that ICE is brought under control in a variety of different ways, including our demand, which we will not walk away from.”

It is clear that Jeffries is not speaking for his whole caucus. Under immense national pressure to rein in the Department of Homeland Security after federal immigration agents shot and killed Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, it is unclear how many Democrats will support the current plan without specific immigration concessions locked in.

The leaders of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and center-left New Democrat Coalition issued a rare joint statement Thursday stating that Congress must pair any “new funding for ICE and the Department of Homeland Security” with reforms. The proposals would force Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations to cease in Minneapolis, end arrests without judicial warrants and ensure full, independent investigations of DHS-related shootings.

CPC Chair Greg Casar doubled down over the weekend.

“My Progressive Caucus colleagues and I have been clear: not another cent to ICE until we stop the chaos and the lawlessness,” Casar wrote on X. “If this comes to the House, I’m voting no.”

The Senate-approved package does not include any reforms. However, Republican and Democratic leadership have a two-week window to negotiate an immigration deal before DHS funding expires. The White House signed off on the plan to peel off the DHS bill with Senate Democrats, and the party will continue to have leverage in the talks as Republicans seek to ensure that the department responsible for the Trump administration’s immigration agenda does not shut down.

Even if the partial government shutdown ends early this week, the clock will immediately start ticking on funding DHS before the two-week funding period expires. Negotiators in the House and Senate will have to scramble to come up with some compromise or the department will face a lapse in funding.