House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) discusses rising health insurance premiums as House Minority Leader Steve Scalise (R-Minn.) and House Minority Leader Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) look on during a news conference at the Capitol in Washington, Dec. 10, 2025.
Heather Deal | Getty Images
The House on Thursday passed a bipartisan package of three spending bills that will fund parts of the federal government through September, demonstrating lawmakers’ eagerness to avoid another government shutdown near the end of the month.
Congress has so far passed only three of the 12 annual spending bills that fund federal agencies for the current fiscal year. Failure to pass the remainder by the Jan. 30 deadline risks another shutdown, just weeks after a record 43-day shutdown late last year.
Leaders of both parties supported the latest bill and indicated it would likely pass the Senate, leaving Congress halfway through work on this year’s spending bill. The White House also supports this bill, calling it a “fiscal responsibility bill.”
The package covers agencies such as the Department of the Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Department of Commerce, and the Department of Justice. The bill passed by an overwhelming vote of 397-28, demonstrating rare unity on government spending.
both sides claim victory
Republican lawmakers estimate the bill’s price tag at about $175 billion, below current levels and savings for taxpayers, Republicans said. Democrats countered that they were able to negotiate spending levels that far exceeded the Trump administration’s demands, weakening gun safety regulations, expanding oil and gas leases on federal lands, and removing numerous policy riders targeting LGBTQ and racial justice policies.
Importantly, the measure also includes legally binding spending requirements that would limit the White House’s ability to withhold or delay funding for programs opposed by President Trump, Democrats said. President Trump’s first year in office has been marked by numerous lawsuits from states, cities and nonprofit groups alleging his administration is conducting an illegal power grab.
“This bill forcibly rejects the harsh cuts to public services proposed by the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress,” said Rep. Rosa DeLauro, ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee.
The Senate must also pass the bill before President Donald Trump signs it. But the bill also has bipartisan support in the chamber.
Rep. Tom Cole, the Republican chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, urged his colleagues to vote for the bill, saying, “Republicans are strongest when they stay focused, Democrats are more effective when they negotiate in good faith, and our country is better off when Republicans and Democrats work together.”
Fundraising efforts are significantly behind schedule
In recent years, Congress has typically bundled all spending bills into one or two bills, often voted on before lawmakers leave Washington for vacation. Lawmakers say such a process makes it easier to include provisions they couldn’t vote on alone.
Prime Minister Johnson has called for a return to the days when Congress considered each of the 12 spending bills individually, but he finds that easier said than done. The fiscal year began Oct. 1, but Congress is still debating year-round funding for most federal agencies.
Democrats cited a variety of priorities that allowed them to maintain or increase funding despite the administration’s opposition. For example, a program to improve home energy efficiency for low-income Americans received a $3 million increase rather than being eliminated as President Trump proposed. The EPA, a frequent target of President Trump, received $8.8 billion. That’s more than double the amount President Trump asked for.
Republicans had expressed concerns about some items in the bill, now called Community Funding Projects. To allay those concerns, about $1.5 million in grants won by Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) were removed from the bill. It would have funded the efforts of a Somali-led organization that provides job training and peer support services to people struggling with addiction.
Republicans have focused on allegations of fraud by day care centers run by Somali residents. These charges are still under investigation. Omar urged people not to blame entire communities for the actions of a relatively small number of people.
