Exuberance over a bipartisan deal struck Thursday afternoon to punt final decisions on Homeland Security funding and pass the rest of this year’s spending bills gave way to the realities of Senate procedure later in the evening.
The Senate adjourned late Thursday night without reaching a bipartisan time agreement on votes and a limited list of amendments. The “hotline” process requires all 100 senators to agree not to raise an objection, and that wasn’t happening quickly.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., called the agreement “a bad deal” and said he’s got a hold on the measure. “We’re not voting tonight,” he said.
Graham was visibly upset about full-year Homeland Security funding falling by the wayside, at least for now, and the treatment of immigration enforcement officers he said were being “demonized” for the actions of a few.
The bill would also repeal a provision of an earlier spending law that would allow Graham and other GOP senators whose phone records were collected during the Biden-era “Arctic Frost” investigation to sue for large payouts.
Graham said his hold is “not about me,” as he no longer stands to benefit financially after an agreement with the Ethics Committee. Rather, he said he’s seeking to protect others whose records are searched without their consent.
“It’s not about Arctic Frost,” he said. “It’s much deeper than that.”
House leaders had inserted that repeal provision just before passing the full-year Homeland Security bill last week. The Senate’s continuing resolution that would be swapped in under the bipartisan agreement strikes all of that earlier text and would simply extend DHS funding for two weeks.
But it retains a key provision from the discarded full-year bill to block payouts to GOP senators whose phone records were searched in a judicially sanctioned probe without their knowledge.
The call records were collected as part of the Arctic Frost investigation, which lawmakers say formed the basis of former special counsel John L. “Jack” Smith’s investigation into Trump’s attempt to overturn his loss in the 2020 election.
Graham characterized the since-dropped provision as critical to a much broader class of individuals and groups potentially under investigation.
“What senator wouldn’t want notification that they’re looking at your phone?” he said. “I dare a House member to suggest that there shouldn’t be a private cause of action for Turning Point USA and the other groups that I think were abused by Jack Smith.”
Presidential backing
The deal reached earlier in the day involves passing a short-term DHS funding extension, through Feb. 13, as negotiations continue over how and whether to impose tighter restrictions on federal immigration agents. At the same time five other final fiscal 2026 spending bills that were caught in limbo by the partisan clash over immigration policy would be allowed to pass.
Those bills — Defense, Labor-HHS-Education, Financial Services, National Security-State, and Transportation-HUD — are needed by Friday night to avoid a partial government shutdown when current funding runs out.
Under the plan, the Senate would amend a House-passed six-bill funding package to strip out the existing Homeland Security Bill and replace it with the two-week continuing resolution in the hopes of buying time to hash out further immigration-enforcement restrictions.
President Donald Trump publicly endorsed the deal Thursday night and called on both parties to support it.
“Republicans and Democrats in Congress have come together to get the vast majority of the Government funded until September, while at the same time providing an extension to the Department of Homeland Security,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “Hopefully, both Republicans and Democrats will give a very much needed Bipartisan ‘YES’ Vote.”
The White House budget office later circulated a formal statement of support.
Even if Graham’s and other holds are lifted, a temporary partial shutdown still appeared likely because another vote would be required in the House, which is in recess until Monday.
But the compromise could significantly reduce the length of that shutdown to perhaps just several days. It’s also a much more bearable funding lapse than the 43-day shutdown last fall, the longest in history, in part because six spending bills have already been signed into law, and the rest could become law within days.
It still wasn’t clear when the Senate would act, however, because of the cumbersome nature of trying to secure a unanimous consent agreement. Any one senator could make the chamber jump through procedural hoops, which could delay final passage into the weekend or later.
Typically, Thursdays are viewed as “getaway days” by senators aiming to wrap up outstanding business and head home. But Friday night’s shutdown deadline, coupled with the annual Alfalfa Club dinner on Saturday that’s usually a big draw for Washington’s powerful, there was less incentive to head for the exits early.
It wasn’t just Graham holding things up, as senators on both sides of the aisle had raised objections and amendments they want to offer.
“I hope we can get these issues resolved,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said late Thursday. “Right now, we got snags on both sides, but tomorrow’s another day.”
The chamber will reconvene at 11 a.m. Friday.
Back to the House
If it passes the Senate, the revised spending package would then have to return to the House, where some Republicans have already been signaling their opposition to reconsidering legislation they already advanced. That chamber isn’t set to return until Monday.
The White House played a key role in striking a deal with Democrats — and pressure from Trump has historically swayed many Republicans — meaning there could be enough bipartisan support to consider the measure in the House under suspension of the rules. But conservatives successfully negotiated changes to the rules for the 119th Congress that are intended to limit use of the suspension process to mostly noncontroversial bills.
If lawmakers are looking to bring up the bill under a rule, meanwhile, Republicans could be forced to work within their razor-thin majority since rule votes often follow party lines.
Even if lawmakers send the funding package to Trump’s desk, the underlying issue of potential Homeland Security policy changes remains. Democrats on Wednesday unveiled their list of demands for inclusion in the spending bill, which includes additional restrictions on federal agent patrols such as tighter warrant requirements and collaboration with state and local law enforcement.
Democrats are also pushing for accountability through a uniform code of conduct that aligns with local law enforcement, a ban on masked agents and requirements for officers to carry identification and wear body cameras.
The White House immediately panned those proposals, but left the door open to further negotiations, and though some Senate Republicans have concerns about various elements of the Democrats’ demands, there seems to be interest in negotiating among lawmakers as well.
Forging a final compromise on a full-year Homeland Security bill would still be no easy task.
Earlier, Graham warned on X that he would insist on coupling any new restrictions on immigration agents with an end to “sanctuary cities,” which don’t cooperate with federal immigration enforcement efforts in some cases. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, a leader of the hard-right House Freedom Caucus, has echoed that sentiment in recent days.
John T. Bennett contributed to this report.
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