Brief Shutdown Likely After Senate Sends Spending Package Back to the House

Editor’s Note: This story was updated after the Senate passed the appropriations bill the evening of Jan. 30.

The Senate passed a full-year fiscal 2026 spending package to fund the Pentagon, but the bill must now be passed by the House, which is out of session, meaning at least a brief government shutdown appears likely.

Congress has in recent weeks been racing to approve the final fiscal 2026 defense appropriations bill by the Jan. 30 deadline. House lawmakers signed off on a six-bill “minibus” on Jan. 23 that included funding for the Defense Department and five other federal agencies. However, controversy over Department of Homeland Security spending—part of the original package—has intensified over the last week, and the Senate’s plan to vote on a bill that separates DHS funding from the larger package faced uncertainty and negotiations.

Just hours before the Jan. 30 midnight deadline, the Senate voted 71-29 to approve the deal. But House lawmakers are out and likely won’t hold a vote on the revised minibus until Feb. 2 at the earliest. That means some federal agencies, including the Defense Department, may have to deal with an awkward few days without funding. 

During a government shutdown, service members and some civilians are permitted to work, but nonessential employees are not. As of the evening of Jan. 30, the Defense Department had not issued guidance indicating whether civilians deemed nonessential should report to work Feb. 2 in the event Congress has not approved a defense spending bill. 

Should a shutdown occur and last through Feb. 2, furloughed employees will need to file paperwork and essential employees will have to take on an increased workload in their absence.

The U.S. government had its longest shutdown in history last fall, extending 43 days across October and November. The Pentagon furloughed 334,000 civilians and was forced to stop or slow work on key weapons programs. The department was able to fund paychecks for military members, while most civilians were not paid during the shutdown but later received back pay.

The final defense spending bill currently includes $839 billion for the Pentagon. It fully funds the Air Force’s request for 24 F-35As, adds $900 million for the E-7 Wedgetail program, and includes an extra $115 million to purchase one additional F-15EX, bringing the 2026 total buy to 22 aircraft. 

For the Space Force, the bill would appropriate $2 billion for 11 National Security Space Launch missions, $528 million to buy two GPS IIIF satellites, nearly $4 billion for continued development of missile warning and tracking capabilities, and $2.5 billion for classified space systems.