Where Things Stand on Government Funding

Late yesterday, the three-bill “minibus” containing the Interior-Environment, Energy-Water, and Commerce-Justice-Science (CJS) funding bills cleared its first “test vote” in the Senate by a vote of 80-13. It’s a sign that this measure is on a glidepath to hit the president’s desk ahead of the Jan. 30 funding deadline, though a “time agreement” to speed up passage may be elusive. Of note, Sens. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) and Michael Bennet (D-CO) were among the No votes yesterday as they maintain their strong opposition to the Trump administration’s decision to restructure a key atmospheric research center out west. Meanwhile, the House will gavel in today for a vote on the rule that will set up floor debate for the next two-bill package for Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) and State-Foreign Operations, with a vote on final passage expected before the end of the week. According to House Appropriations Committee Chair Tom Cole (R-OK), the Homeland Security bill — which was originally set to be included with FSGG and State-Foreign Operations — will instead get added to the last package containing the fiscal year (FY) 2026 bills for Labor-HHS-Education, Defense, and Transportation-HUD.