Here’s what’s to know : NPR

The U.S. Capitol is pictured on January 27, 2026.

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Rahmat Gul/AP

The U.S. government entered a partial shutdown after Congress failed to meet a midnight deadline Friday to complete work on a spending package aimed at preventing funds from several federal departments from drying out.

Although the funding has technically expired, Congress appears poised to break the impasse that has led to the expiration of funds across large swaths of the government, including the Department of Defense, the State Department and the Department of Health and Human Services.

The Senate on Friday approved legislation to fund each of these remaining government agencies through the end of the fiscal year in September, while also agreeing to a two-week stopgap bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security. The two-week continuing resolution is designed to allow lawmakers to negotiate reforms within the agency after federal immigration agents in Minnesota killed two U.S. citizens this month.

However, the bill must now be approved by the House, which is in recess until Monday. President Trump has already approved the package, and lawmakers in the lower house are expected to vote on it soon after returning to Washington.

Just a week ago, Congress appeared poised to approve nearly $1.3 trillion in spending on defense, health care, transportation, housing and more in one package before the deadline.

But the second fatal shooting of a U.S. citizen in Minneapolis by federal immigration agents upended those plans, with Democrats pledging to withhold support for the funding plan without a policy change on immigration enforcement.

Now that the Senate has voted, the fate of the bill rests with the House. Here’s what you need to know:

Parliamentary recess makes short-term funding disruption inevitable

Under the Senate agreement, senators voted on five appropriations bills: Defense; Labor, health and social services, education; Transport, housing and urban development; State; and Financial Services and Public Administration – to fund these agencies until September. They also approved a two-week extension of Homeland Security funding to give negotiators more time to consider possible reforms.

But the House, which previously approved a plan to fund the six departments, must vote again on the amended plan.

If lawmakers act quickly once they return Monday, the effects of a shutdown could be extremely limited because most federal offices are closed on weekends.

But the package could face other obstacles in the House, where Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., holds a slim majority. The conservative House Freedom Caucus expressed opposition to the plan earlier this week, and the measure will first have to go to the Rules Committee, where Republican defections could prevent the package from passing.

What the Democrats are asking for

Democrats are calling for broad changes to the way federal immigration agents do their jobs. This includes banning them from wearing masks, requiring body cameras, and creating a uniform code of conduct and use of force rules.

Democrats are calling for rules on the types of warrants immigration agents can use to enter homes and an end to so-called “roving patrols” when agents conduct sweeping searches and stops on people they suspect are in the country illegally.

They also want to make it easier to prosecute immigration officials and “independent investigations” into misconduct by federal agents.

And they also want to require officers to display clearer identification.

Some recommendations could attract support from Republicans. Following Pretti’s death, several Republicans expressed discomfort with ICE’s enforcement tactics and called for hearings and an independent investigation.

But divisions remain within the party: Sen. James Lankford, an Oklahoma Republican who serves on the Homeland Security Committee, said he saw no need for further policy changes. He noted that the House has already approved additional funding for body cameras and surveillance.

“We’re not going to stop ICE from doing its job,” said Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla. “The American people wanted the president to enforce law and order and ICE is doing its job.”

Barbara Sprunt, Ximena Bustillo and Sam Gringlas contributed to this report.