US lawmakers agreed to split DHS funding from other bills and use a two-week stopgap, easing near-term shutdown risks while immigration disputes remain unresolved.
-
Senate GOP and Democrats agreed to separate five bipartisan spending bills from DHS funding, easing immediate shutdown risks.
-
A two-week continuing resolution (CR) will fund the Department of Homeland Security, buying time for negotiations.
-
The deal reflects a White House–Senate Democrat compromise to avoid broader government disruption.
-
Immigration and ICE funding disputes are deferred, not resolved.
-
Markets see reduced near-term shutdown risk, but policy uncertainty remains elevated.
US lawmakers moved to defuse the threat of a broader government shutdown after Senate Republicans and Democrats reached an agreement to split Department of Homeland Security funding from other must-pass legislation and rely on a short stopgap to keep DHS operating. We had whispers of this yesterday:
And then more during US time:
Under the deal, negotiators will advance five bipartisan full-year appropriations bills, while replacing the DHS measure with a two-week continuing resolution. The arrangement reflects demands from Senate Democrats, led by Chuck Schumer, to prevent immigration funding disputes from triggering a wider shutdown across federal agencies.
Sources said The White House and Senate Democrats clinched the compromise as the funding deadline approached. While the agreement does not deliver the policy changes Democrats have sought on immigration enforcement, it reduces the immediate risk of service disruptions and provides negotiators with additional time to bridge differences.
At the centre of the standoff is funding for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which has been a recurring flashpoint in budget negotiations. By isolating DHS funding, lawmakers aim to keep the rest of the government running while talks continue on border security and enforcement priorities.
The move follows a familiar Washington pattern: using short-term funding extensions to manage political deadlock, particularly when contentious policy issues intersect with must-pass budget deadlines. Previous shutdown episodes have shown that even brief lapses can disrupt federal operations, delay payments, and weigh on confidence.
For now, the two-week CR lowers the probability of an immediate shutdown and allows Congress to finalise less controversial spending measures. However, with DHS funding still unresolved, lawmakers face renewed pressure to reach a longer-term agreement before the stopgap expires, keeping fiscal and political uncertainty firmly in play.
This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at investinglive.com.