Congress leaves for holidays after zero progress on federal funding

By Thérèse Boudreaux
The Center Square

U.S. lawmakers have left town for the holidays without making any actionable progress on the long-delayed fiscal year 2026 government funding bills.

That means when Congress returns Jan. 6, lawmakers will have less than a month to pass the remaining nine out of 12 massive appropriations bills.

“The government runs out of funding on January 30th,” House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., warned Friday. “There is no plan to meet the January 30th deadline … Time is running out.”

Most of the delay since November has stemmed from a few Republican holdouts haggling over earmarks with head appropriators and chamber leaders. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., finally secured support for a five-bill minibus.

The bipartisan minibus includes fiscal year 2026 funding for federal agencies that handle Transportation and Housing and Urban Development; Defense; Labor and Health and Human Services; Commerce, and Justice, Science; and Interior.

Thune was unable to bring it to the floor for a vote Thursday, however, because two Democrats held up the package.

“I am disappointed that we will not be moving to our second package of appropriations bills tonight,” Thune told lawmakers. “Republicans were ready to go. But unfortunately, my Democrat colleagues are not there yet.”

Thune added that he “remain[s] committed to funding the government through the regular order process,” when Congress reconvenes.

But given the incredibly tight deadline and lawmakers’ strong aversion to another government shutdown, lawmakers likely will resort yet again to passing a Continuing Resolutions for at least some federal agencies.

Most federal government agencies are still running off of appropriations levels from fiscal year 2024. Congress never passed a real budget in fiscal year 2025, instead punting forward the shutdown deadline via three consecutive CRs.

The government then shut down Oct. 1, when Democrats refused to vote for a fourth CR due to Republicans’ refusal to extend the expiring enhanced Obamacare subsidies.

After a record long 43-day shutdown, enough Democrats voted to reopen the government by passing a CR. Congress also passed a three-bill minibus that same day.