The federal government just reopened and yet the next funding fight is already on the horizon.
As part of the deal to end the government shutdown, Congress cleared a three-bill FY2026 funding package covering Legislative Branch, MilCon-Va and Agriculture.
But the next potential minibus is already facing problems. Appropriators haven’t even settled on how they will package the remaining bills — not a good sign for the Jan. 30 deadline.
Top Republican appropriators are eyeing a combination of five FY2026 spending bills for the next minibus. The Senate teed up five bills: Transportation-HUD, Defense, Labor-HHS, Commerce-Justice-Science and Interior. House Appropriations Committee Chair Tom Cole (R-Okla.) wanted Interior added to the pack.
Passing CJS makes that package more complicated than it already is. Some lawmakers want to use CJS to strip out a provision from the CR funding package that would allow senators to sue the government for up to $500,000 if their phone data is searched by federal investigators. That would be a hard sell for Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who backed the measure.
But this has quickly become a red line for nearly every House Republican, as we noted. Speaker Mike Johnson said he discussed the issue with Thune. Johnson said he and other House Republicans were “very angry” that Senate Republicans included the provision.
Topline talks. GOP and Democratic leadership haven’t yet settled topline spending numbers for FY2026, which appropriators usually need to finish the Defense and Labor-HHS bills, Cole said. The two chambers are currently tens of billions of dollars apart on those two bills.
“If our leadership and the Senate leadership and the administration want to engage in that, that’s fine, or we can continue to operate the way that we are now, which is taking their numbers, our numbers, and finding some point in between them that allows us to go ahead,” Cole said. “That may be the best way to proceed.”
Republican and Democratic appropriators across both chambers have also had more conversations recently. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.), the National Security-State cardinal, said he spoke with his Democratic counterpart in the Senate, Sen. Brian Schatz (Hawaii).
Diaz-Balart is optimistic the chambers can agree on that bill, which covers foreign aid programs that the Trump administration rolled back in rescissions packages.
“What would not be acceptable is a year-long CR on the remaining bills,” Diaz-Balart said.
House Democrats. House Democrats aren’t giving up on their demands that funding bills have some guardrails against future rescissions.
Top House Appropriations Committee Democrat Rosa DeLauro (Conn.) said ensuring there won’t be more rescissions is a priority for her as appropriators try to move more bills. DeLauro was the only one of the “Four Corners” appropriators not to sign off on the CR and first minibus.
“Look, I want to see the appropriations process move,” DeLauro said. “I’m a ranking member on the Appropriations Committee. I’ve chaired the committee. That’s what my job is. But we’re also going to deal with what is included in the bills.”
