House passes $1.2T spending bills as Democrats oppose ICE funding

The House passed approximately $1.2 trillion in spending bills in January 2026, narrowly approving Homeland Security funding on a 220-207 vote as Democratic leaders objected to provisions that would fund President Trump’s mass deportation efforts. The broader spending package passed 341-88, funding a 3.8% military pay raise while keeping non-defense spending at current levels.

The outcome determines federal spending for immigration enforcement agencies as the Trump administration escalates ICE operations nationwide. Democrats won modest concessions, including body-camera requirements and restrictions on unilateral funding shifts by the Homeland Security secretary, but failed to block a bill they said fails to restrain the deportation effort.

The vote

In January 2026, the House passed its final batch of spending bills with deep partisan disagreement over immigration enforcement. Three bills that funded the Defense Department, Education, Transportation, and Health and Human Services passed with broad bipartisan support. The Department of Homeland Security bill, however, narrowly passed on a 220-207 vote, split almost entirely along party lines.

The broader spending package, which combined all four bills, passed 341-88. It provides a 3.8% pay raise for military personnel and keeps non-defense federal spending roughly at current levels, a result Republicans touted as responsible stewardship.

The bills must now clear the Senate before a Jan. 30 deadline to avoid a partial government shutdown. Last fall’s 43-day shutdown left lawmakers eager to avoid another funding lapse.

The Democratic opposition

Democratic leaders announced their unified opposition to the Homeland Security bill before the vote, with a particular focus on immigration enforcement.

“Taxpayer dollars are being misused to brutalize U.S. citizens, including the tragic killing of Renee Nicole Good. This extremism must end,” said a joint statement from Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, Democratic Whip Katherine Clark, and Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar. Good, a mother of three, was fatally shot by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer during an operation in the Minneapolis area where more than 2,000 ICE agents are stationed.

Democrats argued that Trump had promised to focus deportations on violent felons in the country illegally, but instead, ICE has targeted American citizens and law-abiding immigrants.

Representative Betty McCollum of Minnesota said her state’s residents were being racially profiled on a mass scale. “Masked federal agents are seizing parents, yes, in front of terrified children,” she said. “And many of these people we’re finding had no record and were here legally.”

Representative Jerrold Nadler of New York said: “I will not fund an agency that acts like an American gestapo.”

Representative Katherine Clark of Massachusetts framed the vote as a choice about government power itself. “This is about the political retribution of a vengeful president,” she said. “I will not rubberstamp the federal government’s use of political violence against its own people and I ask every member to join me in voting no.”

What Democrats won

Democrats had limited leverage. A failure to fund Homeland Security would hurt disaster relief programs and the Transportation Security Administration, while ICE and Customs and Border Protection could continue operations using funds from Trump’s earlier tax cut and immigration bill. That legislation provided $30 billion for ICE operations and $45 billion for detention facilities.

Instead, Democrats negotiated modest concessions. The Homeland Security bill holds ICE’s annual spending roughly flat from the prior year, a level of roughly $10 billion. The legislation restricts the ability of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to unilaterally shift funding between programs. It also allocates $20 million for body cameras for ICE and Customs and Border Protection officers during immigration enforcement operations, and requires the Homeland Security Department to provide monthly updates on how it spends money from Trump’s bill.

Representative Henry Cuellar, a Texas Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, acknowledged the compromise’s limits. “It’s not everything we wanted. We wanted more oversight,” Cuellar said. “But look, Democrats don’t control the House. We don’t control the Senate or the White House. But we were able to add some oversight over Homeland.”

The Republican defense

Republicans countered that the Homeland Security bill supports national security priorities. “This legislation delivers just that and upholds the America first agenda,” said Representative Tom Cole, the Republican chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.

Republican leaders also highlighted the avoidance of an omnibus spending bill—the massive, catchall bills that have historically driven federal spending higher. “It sends a clear, powerful message back home—the House is back at work. We are back to governing,” said Representative Mark Alford of Missouri.

Cole also responded to the rhetoric from Democratic colleagues about ICE. “It’s reckless, encouraging people to believe that we have masses of bad actors in a particular agency,” he said.

Last-minute provision on surveillance

In a last-minute addition to the spending package, the House included a provision that repeals the ability of senators to sue the government over cellphone data collection related to special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. Senators had previously been allowed to sue for up to $500,000 in damages under an earlier funding bill, but that provision had drawn sharp criticism and the House unanimously agreed to block it.