type: timeline_event
The House approved a more than $1 trillion spending package that brought an end to a four-day partial government shutdown, passing by a razor-thin vote of 217 to 214. Twenty-one Democrats joined 196 Republicans in support, while 193 Democrats and 21 Republicans voted no, in a vote closer than many observers and lawmakers predicted. The legislation includes five full-year spending bills funding most of the federal government through September, plus a two-week extension of funding for the Department of Homeland Security through February 13.
Speaker Mike Johnson faced challenges getting the bill across the finish line, ultimately convincing GOP holdouts to advance the measure for a final vote. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) switched from no to yes in a last-minute move. President Trump signed the legislation into law, ensuring more than 95 percent of the federal government was funded through full-year appropriations, with only DHS remaining on a short-term continuing resolution.
The vote demonstrates the fragile nature of congressional control over appropriations amid narrow House majorities and divided opinions on immigration enforcement reform. Democrats protected the full $7,395 maximum Pell Grant, rejecting Trump's push to cut it by more than $1,000, and blocked proposed cuts to rental assistance that could have impacted over 10 million Americans. The passage reasserts Congress's constitutional power over spending, meaning Trump and cabinet secretaries no longer have legal authority to unilaterally defund programs covered by the appropriations bills. However, the two-week DHS extension sets up a frantic negotiation window over immigration enforcement reforms, with another partial shutdown possible if no agreement is reached.