Senate Splits DHS Funding as Democrats Demand Body Cameras and Warrants for ICE

The Senate held its procedural vote on Jan. 29, 2026, with the midnight deadline for government funding just hours away. Senate Democrats voted 44-55 to block cloture, preventing the combined spending package from advancing to a final vote. This vote forced negotiations that ultimately split DHS funding from the other five agency bills.

Democrats blocked the procedural vote on a House-passed omnibus that combined $1.3 trillion in spending across six agencies: Defense, Treasury, State, Labor-HHS, Transportation, and the Department of Homeland Security. By refusing to allow the package to proceed as written, Democrats used their minority leverage to extract concessions on immigration enforcement policy. The strategy relied on the fact that 60 votes are needed to end debate in the Senate.

Five of the six agency bills passed as part of the compromise and will fund Defense, Treasury, State, Labor-HHS, and Transportation through the end of fiscal year 2026 on Sept. 30. These agencies will operate with full-year appropriations rather than continuing resolutions, giving them budget certainty for planning and operations. The passage ended the immediate funding crisis for most of the federal government.

The Department of Homeland Security was carved out of the deal and now operates on a two-week continuing resolution through Feb. 13, 2026. This short-term funding keeps DHS open but at previous spending levels while Congress negotiates the Democratic demands for ICE reforms. The Feb. 13 deadline creates another pressure point for both parties to reach agreement on enforcement policies.

Senate Democrats proposed four specific operational reforms for Immigration and Customs Enforcement: mandatory body cameras on federal agents during enforcement operations, a ban on agents wearing masks that conceal their identities, warrant requirements before entering homes or making arrests, and uniform use-of-force rules governing when agents can deploy physical force. SCSen. Chuck Schumer called these common-sense reforms needed to rein in an agency he said was out of control.

The Democratic demands followed two deaths involving federal agents in Jan. 2026: Alex Pretti was shot and killed on Jan. 24, and Renee Good was shot and killed on Jan. 7. Democrats cited these incidents as evidence that ICE operates without adequate oversight or accountability. The deaths became the political catalyst for the reform demands attached to the spending negotiations.

The House of Representatives did not return to 🌲Washington until Monday, Jan. 27, 2026, leaving insufficient time to negotiate changes before the Jan. 30 midnight deadline. This scheduling gap guaranteed that a partial government shutdown would occur over the weekend even if the Senate reached a deal. The House absence limited options for resolving the standoff before funding lapsed.