The Senate voted Friday evening to fund most of the federal government through September, capping a week of intense negotiations that at one point threatened to plunge the country into another extended government shutdown.

The 71-29 vote came hours before funding was set to expire at midnight. The legislation includes five full-year appropriations bills covering the departments of Defense, Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, State, and Treasury. A sixth bill funding the Department of Homeland Security was replaced with a two-week stopgap measure, giving lawmakers additional time to negotiate changes to immigration enforcement policy.

President Donald Trump endorsed the deal Thursday evening, writing on social media that he did not want to see "another long and damaging government shutdown" that could slow economic growth.

"Republicans and Democrats in Congress have come together to get the vast majority of the Government funded until September," Trump wrote. "Hopefully, both Republicans and Democrats will give a very much needed Bipartisan 'YES' Vote."

A Brief Shutdown Still Expected

Despite the Senate's passage, funding will temporarily lapse beginning at midnight Friday. The House remains on recess until Monday, meaning the legislation cannot reach the president's desk until early next week at the earliest.

Speaker Mike Johnson held a conference call with House Republicans on Friday and said he expects the chamber to vote Monday evening. The Office of Management and Budget has already issued guidance preparing for a partial shutdown over the weekend.

The impact of the funding lapse is expected to be limited compared with the 43-day government shutdown last fall, the longest in American history. Most federal offices are closed on weekends, and if the House acts quickly upon returning, the effects would be minimal.

Johnson told reporters Thursday night that the House would fulfill its obligations. "We may inevitably be in a short shutdown situation," he said. "But the House is going to do its job."

The Minneapolis Shootings Changed Everything

The spending deal emerged from a crisis that began last weekend when a Border Patrol agent fatally shot 37-year-old Alex Pretti during protests in Minneapolis. Pretti's death came two weeks after ICE officer killed protester Renee Good in the same city.

Senate Democrats, who had previously signed off on a full-year DHS funding bill, withdrew their support after the shootings. They vowed to block the entire six-bill funding package unless Congress agreed to consider restrictions on immigration enforcement.

"The nation is reaching a breaking point," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said after Friday's vote. "The American people are demanding that Congress step up and force change."

Democrats have laid out several demands for any future DHS funding bill. They want an end to roving ICE patrols in American cities, tighter warrant requirements, coordination with state and local law enforcement, and an enforceable code of conduct. They also want federal agents barred from wearing masks and required to wear body cameras and carry proper identification.

"Until ICE is properly reined in and overhauled legislatively, the DHS funding bill doesn't have the votes to pass," Schumer said earlier in the week.

Last-Minute Obstacles Nearly Derailed the Deal

The Senate had hoped to vote Thursday night after leaders announced the agreement, but objections from lawmakers on both sides prevented quick passage.

Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina emerged as the most vocal stumbling block. Graham placed a hold on the package, protesting language that would repeal a law allowing senators to sue the government if their phone records were secretly obtained—as happened during former special counsel Jack Smith's investigation into the January 6, 2021 Capitol attack.

"If you were abused, you think you were abused, your phone records were illegally seized—you should have your day in court," Graham said Thursday. "Every senator should want to make sure this never happens again."

Graham lifted his hold Friday afternoon after Senate Majority Leader John Thune agreed to schedule future votes on two of his priorities: legislation criminalizing sanctuary city policies and a separate bill allowing groups and private citizens caught up in Smith's investigation to sue the federal government.

Several senators also secured amendment votes as part of the final negotiations, though all were rejected. Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky sought to strip $5 billion in refugee funding. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont attempted to repeal $75 billion in ICE funding and redirect the savings to Medicaid. Senator Mike Lee of Utah proposed eliminating earmarks from the spending bills.

Five Republicans voted against final passage: Senators Ted Cruz, Ron Johnson, Mike Lee, Rand Paul, and Rick Scott. About half of Senate Democrats also voted no, with some arguing that even two weeks of additional DHS funding was too generous.

Two Weeks to Find Common Ground

With DHS funding now set to expire February 13, lawmakers face another deadline in short order. The negotiations ahead are expected to be difficult.

Republicans have signaled they will push their own demands in exchange for any restrictions on ICE. Senator Mike Rounds of South Dakota said Republicans want provisions cracking down on sanctuary cities. Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin described tightening warrant requirements as "a complete nonstarter."

"I expect Democrats aren't going to be negotiating in good faith," Johnson told reporters. "I expect that they don't want to fund ICE and Border Patrol."

Thune acknowledged the challenge ahead. "We'll sit down in good faith," he said, "but it will be really, really hard to get anything done," especially in such a short period.

Democrats made clear they would not support an extension without meaningful reforms. "If our colleagues are not willing to enact real change, they should not expect Democratic votes," Schumer said.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries echoed that position. "We have to deal with the issue of reining ICE and the Department of Homeland Security in with the fierce urgency of now," he told reporters. Absent "dramatic change," Jeffries warned, "Republicans will get another shutdown."

Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins noted that once the legislation is signed into law, Congress will have funded 96 percent of the federal government for fiscal year 2026—a milestone, she said, that demonstrates lawmakers can work in a bipartisan manner to fulfill their core responsibilities.

That milestone, however, arrives a third of the way into the fiscal year, which began in October with a record-breaking shutdown that lasted 43 days.