As of January 31, 2026, the federal government of the United States has entered a partial shutdown after lawmakers in Congress failed to pass a complete appropriations package before the funding deadline expired at midnight. The shutdown occurred despite the Senate’s bipartisan vote on a $1.2 trillion spending bill intended to fund most government departments through the end of the fiscal year, with a short-term extension for the Department of Homeland Security. That measure cleared the Senate on a 71-29 vote after intense negotiations between President Donald Trump and Democratic leaders, but it arrived too late for the House of Representatives to consider before the deadline, prompting a lapse in funding and triggering a shutdown of many federal operations.
The impasse reflects deep divisions in Congress, with Senate Democrats pushing for reforms to immigration enforcement as a condition for fully funding the Department of Homeland Security, driven in part by public outrage over the deaths of U.S. citizens at the hands of federal agents. Although the Senate separated DHS financing to allow debate on those reforms, the House has not yet taken up the modified package and is not expected back in session until Monday, leaving the agreement in limbo and the government partially unfunded over the weekend.
The partial shutdown affects several federal departments, including Defense, Transportation, Labor, and Health and Human Services, though agencies such as the Pentagon and certain national parks will remain operational under existing appropriations. Key federal workers may be furloughed or work without pay until funding is restored. Lawmakers from both sides have expressed urgency in resolving the standoff quickly to minimize disruptions, but political wrangling over budget priorities and policy conditions continues to complicate the path forward.
This development comes only months after the longest shutdown in U.S. history, which lasted 43 days in late 2025, underscoring persistent challenges in the federal budget process and growing partisan tensions that now risk repeating the ordeal at the start of 2026.
