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2026 United States federal government shutdowns

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2026 U.S. federal government shutdowns
USDOS 2026 shutdown notice.png
Website of the United States Department of State during the first shutdown
DateFirst shutdown: January 31 – February 3, 2026 (2026-01-31 – 2026-02-03)
(4 days)
Second shutdown: February 14, 2026 – present (2026-02-14 – present)
(21 days)
CauseEnd of certain appropriations from the Continuing Appropriations, Agriculture, Legislative Branch, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Extensions Act, 2026

Two shutdowns of the U.S. federal government have occurred in 2026, both arising from disputes in Congress about reforms to federal immigration enforcement after the killing of Alex Pretti by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents. The first shutdown lasted four days from January 31 to February 3, affecting about half of the departments of the federal government; it was caused by delays in approving a funding package that would allow time for reform negotiations. The second began on February 14 due to a lack of progress in the reform negotiations, and only affects the Department of Homeland Security.

Contents

On January 22, 2026, a package containing the final six of the twelve annual appropriations bills passed the House. After CBP agents killed Alex Pretti two days later, Senate Democrats said they would no longer support the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) bill, which includes funding for CBP, favoring a continuing resolution to allow time for negotiations to include reforms in the bill. After a week of negotiations, Democrats and Republicans reached an agreement on January 29 to pass a package containing five of the bills plus a two-week continuing resolution for DHS, which passed the Senate the following day. Although the Senate passed the bill before funding ran out, the House only approved it on February 3, and the first shutdown ended that day. [1]

Negotiations on Homeland Security did not reach a resolution during the extended two weeks negotiating period, leading to the second shutdown on February 14, 2026. The first major effect of the second shutdown was the suspension of Global Entry on February 22.

Background

2026 federal budget

On September 30, 2025, President Donald Trump and congressional leaders held discussions that failed to avert a shutdown. President Donald Trump meets with Congressional Leaders to Avert a Government Shutdown (G2IuGkiXEAAxfEg).jpg
On September 30, 2025, President Donald Trump and congressional leaders held discussions that failed to avert a shutdown.

Article One of the United States Constitution vests the U.S. Congress with the authority to appropriate funds drawn from the Treasury. [2] : 1  Political polarization has affected this process, often forcing lawmakers to pass continuing resolutions to temporarily fund the government. [3] The failure of Congress to agree on funding legislation leads to a government shutdown when the previous funding term ends. [2] : 28-29  In a government shutdown, federal agencies continue work categorized as "essential", but federal employees and contractors are furloughed and not immediately paid. [4]

The 2025 federal government shutdown began after government funding expired on October 1, 2025. [5] On November 9, 2025, after negotiations between Senate Democrats and Senate Republicans, a deal was revealed to end the shutdown. The agreement would include a continuing resolution that would fund the government until the end of January, and full-year appropriations bills for the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Agriculture, military construction, and the Legislative Branch.

A package was enacted in mid-January 2026 including the appropriations bills for Interior and Environment; Commerce, Justice, and science (including NASA and the National Science Foundation); and Energy and water development activities of the Army Corps of Engineers and Department of the Interior. [6]

Later in January, the House and Senate reached agreements to pass the final three appropriations bills needed to avoid a partial government shutdown. These three bills passed the House on January 22, 2026. [7] [8]

Killing of Alex Pretti and Homeland Security funding

Following the killing of Alex Pretti by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents on January 24, 2026, Democrats in the Senate announced they would no longer support the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) bill, which funds CBP. [9] Unlike the House, which voted on each of the three bills separately, the Senate voted only once on all the bills together. Therefore to oppose the Department of Homeland Security bill, Democrats would need to vote against the entire package.

On January 29, 2026, the Senate failed to advance the government funding package in a 45–55 vote. Seven Republicans joined all Democrats in opposing the bill. Most of the Republicans voting against the bill were fiscal conservatives, including Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, Mike Lee of Utah, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Rick Scott and Ashley Moody of Florida. Unlike the Democrats, these Republicans are seeking more funding cuts and are generally opposed to a new deal between Republicans and Democrats for Homeland Security funding. [10]

Later that day, a deal was announced in the Senate to separate the DHS funding bill, and pass a package containing the other five bills plus a two-week continuing resolution for DHS. Passage was briefly delayed by a hold placed by Senator Lindsey Graham, who opposed repeal of a provision allowing senators to sue over phone records collected during the Arctic Frost investigation, and the lack of full-year DHS appropriations. Graham removed the hold in return for votes on legislation to criminalize refusal of state and local officials to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement, and to expand eligibility of those investigated by Jack Smith to sue the Department of Justice. [11] [12] On January 30, the bill passed the Senate 71–29. [13]

First shutdown

Legislative actions in the House

After passing the Senate, Speaker of House Mike Johnson said the House would not take up the bill until Monday, February 2, 2026 and pointed to House's requirement that text be available 72 hours before a vote. [14] [15] As a result, Office of Management and Budget said they would begin shutdown procedures at midnight on Saturday, January 31, when funding ran out. [16]

Mike Johnson announced that he would look to pass the bill through suspension of the rules, which would have meant that a two-thirds majority is needed to pass bills, but avoids a separate rule vote to allow consideration of the bill. This would have needed at least 72 Democrats to vote with Republicans (if all Republicans voted for the bill). However, on Saturday, January 31, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries informed Johnson that there wouldn't be enough Democrat votes to pass the bill under suspension. The rule committee then reportet a rule for consideration of the bill on February 2 and the vote to end the shutdown happened on Tuesday, February 3. [17] [18]

Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries did not endorse the agreement and Democrat Greg Casar of Texas, chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, announced his opposition to the package. Other Democrats, including Steny Hoyer and Jim Clyburn, who both formerly were members of Democratic House leadership, and New Democrat Coalition Chair Brad Schneider, endorsed the package. [19] Republicans Anna Paulina Luna of Florida and Tim Burchett of Tennessee, fiscal conservatives, threatened to oppose the bill if it was not coupled with legislation to require proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections. [20] [21] [19]

Democrat Christian Menefee, who was elected in a special election on Saturday, January 31, was sworn in on Monday. This reduced the Republican majority in the House to 218–214, meaning that Republicans can only afford to lose one vote on party-line votes. [19]

After a meeting with the White House on Monday, Republicans Anna Paulina Luna and Tim Burchett announced they would support the procedural rule vote after receiving assurances that the Senate would 'modify the fillibuster' to pass legislation to require voter ID and prevent non-citizens from voting. [22] Though Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune, the next day, denied that the Senate had agreed to modify the fillibuster. [23] Later on Monday, House Rules Committee voted along party lines to advance the legislation to the House floor. [24]

Prior to the procedural rule vote, and after Senator Thune denied a fillibuster agreement was in place, Republican John Rose of Tennessee called on Republicans to "hold the line" and vote against the rule because it did not include the SAVE Act. [25] Initially, Rose would vote against the rule, along with Republican Thomas Massie and all Democrats. Republicans Andy Ogles, Byron Donalds, Victoria Spartz and Troy Nehls withheld their votes and were seen talking to Republican House leadership on the floor. [26] However, after the choir was held open for 50 minutes, all the Republican holdouts except Massie voted for the rule. [27]

On Tuesday, February 3, the House concurred with the Senate's amendment on the funding bill. The vote was 217–214 with 21 Republicans voting against and 21 Democrats voting for the bill with one Republican abstention. President Trump signed the bill the same day. [28] [18]

Effects

Agencies affected

Agencies affected by the shutdown include the Departments of State, Treasury, Defense (except functions listed below), Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, Labor, Education, and Homeland Security, as well as the Executive Office of the President, several independent agencies, and the Judicial Branch. [29]

Agencies not affected are the Departments of Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Interior, Commerce, Justice, and Energy; some functions of Defense (water development activities of the Army Corps of Engineers and military construction); some independent agencies including the Environmental Protection Agency, NASA, and National Science Foundation; and the Legislative Branch. [30]

Specific effects

The Federal Emergency Management Agency had a fund of about $7–8 billion to continue responding to disaster and weather response, including the January 30–February 1, 2026 United States winter storm. However, other FEMA operations, like National Flood Insurance Program policies, shut down. [31]

10,000 Federal Aviation Administration workers were furloughed as a result of the shutdown. In addition, air traffic controllers continued to work without pay. [32]

About 8,000 of all 27,000 direct-hire State Department employees were furloughed as a result of the shutdown. Essential State Department services, including passport and visa services, along with the operation of embassies and consulates continued. Other services, such nonemergency consular notifications and website updates, were shut down. [31]

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) used money appropriated through the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act to avoid furloughs; the funding would have lasted until February 7 if the shutdown had lasted that long. [33]

Interlude

The continuing resolution for the Department of Homeland Security lasted through February 13, and negotiations about reforms to federal immigration enforcement were expected to occur. [34] Congressional Democrats proposed several reforms to be included in the funding legislation, notably that federal agents: [35]

Congressional Republicans criticized the list as excessive, and that it would add unnecessary bureaucracy and endanger federal agents, although some said there was room for compromise. Republicans also make counterproposals to prevent harassment of federal agents, and to require local governments to cooperate with federal immigration authorities. [35]

On Thursday, February 12, Democrats blocked a second two-week continuing resolution. Both the House and Senate then left Washington for a scheduled one-week recess. This essentially guaranteed there would be no vote to avert a shutdown before funding runs at 12:01 a.m. ET on February 14. If a deal were to have been reached during the recess, the Senate was on 24-hour notice to return while the House was on 48-hour notice. [36] [37]

Second shutdown

A second shutdown affecting only the Department of Homeland Security began on February 14, 2026. [38]

The initial effects of a DHS shutdown were expected to be limited. The three immigration agencies—Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection, and Citizenship and Immigration Services—only receive 60% of their funding from annual appropriations, with the remainder coming from mandatory funding, fees, and from the 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The Federal Emergency Management Agency disaster relief fund was expected to last 1–2 months, and the Coast Guard has funds to pay nearly 70,000 essential workers and active-duty members for several months. However, Transportation Security Administration employees would begin missing full paychecks in mid-March 2026, leading to the possibility of walkouts. [39]

On February 22, 2026, the Department of Homeland Security announced they would suspend TSA PreCheck and Global Entry as a result of the shutdown. [40] The suspension of TSA PreCheck was reversed hours later. However, it was also announced later the same day that courtesy escorts at airports and non-disaster responses from FEMA had been suspended. [41]

References

  1. ↑ Kapur, Sahil; Leach, Brennan (February 3, 2026). "Trump signs bill to end government shutdown and fund DHS for two weeks". NBC News. Retrieved February 3, 2026.
  2. 1 2 Saturno, James V. (2023). Introduction to the Federal Budget Process (Report). Congressional Research Service. R46240. Archived from the original on March 17, 2025.
  3. ↑ Gamio, Lazaro (September 30, 2025). "From Crisis to Crisis: How Congress Struggles to Fund the Government". The New York Times . Archived from the original on September 30, 2025. Retrieved September 30, 2025.
  4. ↑ Gold, Michael (March 14, 2025). "The Democratic Divide: Would a Shutdown Have Helped or Hurt Trump?". The New York Times . Archived from the original on September 25, 2025. Retrieved September 29, 2025.
  5. ↑ Bogage, Jacob; Beggin, Riley (September 23, 2025). "A shutdown would give Trump more power over federal spending". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 23, 2025.
  6. ↑ "Committee Releases Conferenced CJS, E&W, and Interior Bills" (Press release). United States House Committee on Appropriations. January 5, 2026. Retrieved January 10, 2026.
  7. ↑ Hubbard, Kaia; Yilek, Caitlin (January 22, 2026). "House approves final funding bills, sending package to Senate as government shutdown deadline nears". CBS News. Retrieved January 25, 2026.
  8. ↑ Weaver, Al (January 25, 2026). "Second fatal Minneapolis shooting puts Congress on verge of shutdown". The Hill. Retrieved January 25, 2025.
  9. ↑ Lerner, Kira; Gambino, Lauren (January 25, 2026). "Schumer: Democrats will block funding package if it includes homeland security money". The Guardian. Retrieved January 25, 2026.
  10. ↑ Tully-McManus, Katherine; Carney, Jordain; Scholtes, Jennifer (January 29, 2026). "Senators block funding package amid DHS standoff". Politico. Retrieved January 29, 2026.
  11. ↑ Weaver, Al (January 29, 2026). "Senate shutdown deal stalls over Graham objection". The Hill. Retrieved January 30, 2026.
  12. ↑ Bolton, Alexander (January 30, 2026). "Senate set to pass government funding bill Friday after Graham pledges to lift hold". The Hill. Retrieved January 30, 2026.
  13. ↑ Carney, Jordain; Tully-McManus, Katherine (January 30, 2026). "Senate passes $1.2T government funding deal — but a brief shutdown is certain". POLITICO. Retrieved January 31, 2026.
  14. ↑ Limon, Elvia (January 29, 2026). "Johnson says no expected action for government funding in the House until Monday".
  15. ↑ "Availability of Legislative Measures in the House of Representatives (The "72Hour Rule")". www.congress.gov.
  16. ↑ Heckman, Jory (January 30, 2026). "Agencies prepare for partial shutdown, as lawmakers look to minimize its impact". Federal News Network. Retrieved January 30, 2026.
  17. ↑ Ferris, Sarah; Graef, Aileen (February 2, 2026). "Speaker Johnson must sell conservatives on funding deal Democrats pushed for — or risk lengthy government shutdown". CNN. Retrieved February 2, 2026.
  18. 1 2 "Trump signs bill to end government shutdown and fund DHS for two weeks". NBC News. February 3, 2026.
  19. 1 2 3 Razor, Calen; McCarthy, Mia; Warmbrodt, Zachary (February 2, 2026). "Mike Johnson's shutdown gamble". Politico. Retrieved February 2, 2026.
  20. ↑ Lee Hill, Meredith; Wu, Nicholas (January 30, 2026). "House GOP leaders eye bipartisan path for spending package". Politico. Retrieved January 30, 2026.
  21. ↑ Brooks, Emily; Kochi, Sudiksha (January 30, 2026). "Johnson backs fast-track process requiring Democratic support to swiftly end shutdown". The Hill. Retrieved January 30, 2026.
  22. ↑ Rogerson, Riley; Luetkemeyer, Em (February 2, 2026). "Congress Is Set to Pass a Funding Deal After Trump Gets Holdouts in Line". NOTUS. Retrieved February 3, 2026.
  23. ↑ Carney, Jordain (February 3, 2026). "No filibuster deal with House conservatives, Thune says". Politico. Retrieved February 3, 2026.
  24. ↑ Brooks, Emily (February 2, 2026). "House panel advances funding bill to reopen government, teeing up tight floor vote". The Hill. Retrieved February 3, 2026.
  25. ↑ Kapur, Sahil (February 3, 2026). "House clears key hurdle to reopening the government later Tuesday". NBC News. Retrieved February 3, 2026.
  26. ↑ @ChadPergram (February 3, 2026). "From colleague Kelly Phares. 2 GOP noes on the board. Massie and Rose. 4 GOPers haven't voted yet Ogles Donalds Nehls Spartz. Johnson needs these 4 to vote yes and 1 of the nays to flip. Otherwise the rule will fail on the revised spending bill" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  27. ↑ Tully-McManus, Katherine (February 3, 2026). "Shutdown end in sight after spending package clears key House hurdle". Politico. Retrieved February 3, 2026.
  28. ↑ "Trump signs bill to end partial government shutdown, setting stage for next fight". AP News. February 3, 2026.
  29. ↑ H.R. 7148
  30. ↑ H.R. 5371 and H.R. 6938
  31. 1 2 "Here's what to know about the partial government shutdown and its impact". PBS. January 31, 2026. Retrieved February 2, 2026.
  32. ↑ Suter, Tara (February 1, 2026). "Shutdown plan for FAA involves 10K furloughs". The Hill. Retrieved February 2, 2026.
  33. ↑ Waggoner, Martha (January 30, 2026). "IRS will stay fully staffed for first 5 days of shutdown". Journal of Accountancy. Retrieved February 2, 2026.
  34. ↑ Carney, Jordain (February 5, 2026). "DHS negotiations have yet to get underway, Thune says, as shutdown clock ticks". Politico. Retrieved February 5, 2026.
  35. 1 2 Meyer, Theodoric (February 6, 2026). "What Democrats are demanding in exchange for funding ICE". The Washington Post. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved February 9, 2026.
  36. ↑ Carney, Jordain (February 12, 2026). "DHS shutdown all but certain after failed Senate vote". POLITICO. Retrieved February 13, 2026.
  37. ↑ Carney, Jordain (February 12, 2026). "Lawmakers resign themselves to lengthy DHS shutdown". Politico. Retrieved February 13, 2026.
  38. ↑ Luhby, Tami (February 12, 2026). "A partial government shutdown is about to hit the Department of Homeland Security. Here's what that means". CNN. Retrieved February 14, 2026.
  39. ↑ Scholtes, Jennifer; Tully-McManus, Katherine; Miller, Maggie (February 11, 2026). "Here's where — and when — a DHS shutdown would cause pain for the public". POLITICO. Retrieved February 12, 2026.
  40. ↑ Wichter, Zach (February 22, 2026). "Millions to lose TSA PreCheck access during shutdown". USA Today. Retrieved February 22, 2026.
  41. ↑ Ainsley, Julia; Romero, Dennis; Lambert, Madison (February 22, 2026). "TSA PreCheck will remain operational, despite earlier suspension plans". NBC News. Retrieved February 22, 2026.
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