U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) speaks at the annual March for Life in Washington, DC, on January 23, 2026.
Aaron Schwartz | Reuters
House Speaker Mike Johnson said Sunday that the House will consider the Senate-approved spending package this week and believes it has the votes to end the partial government shutdown by Tuesday.
“Let’s say we’re confident that we can do it by at least Tuesday,” the Louisiana Republican said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
The U.S. government was partially shut down Saturday morning after Congress failed to approve a spending package and send it to President Donald Trump by a Jan. 30 deadline.
Senate Democrats called for changes to the bill originally passed by the House of Representatives after two Americans were shot and killed by federal immigration agents in Minnesota. Democrats ultimately removed funding for the Department of Homeland Security from the package and replaced it with a two-week stopgap fund for the agency. The revised package now needs to be reauthorized by the House of Representatives.
The House is scheduled to begin considering the bill on Monday. The House Rules Committee is scheduled to meet Monday, the first step in the process.
Johnson said he was not counting on Democratic support to quickly implement the bill under “suspension of rules”, which requires a two-thirds majority in the House of Commons.
“There’s the logistical challenge of getting everyone on the streets. Thanks to my conversations with (Democratic leader) Hakeem Jeffries, we know we’re going to have to set the rules and we’re probably going to have to do this pretty much on our own,” Johnson said.
House Democrats want assurances that changes to DHS’ immigration operations will be finalized before voting on the spending package.
“Well, we’ll have that conversation after today when we get back to Washington. But one of the things we’ve said publicly is that we need a solid path toward dramatic reform,” Jeffries said on ABC’s “This Week” when asked how he and Democrats plan to vote.
“The administration can’t just pay lip service. It needs to take steps on its own, and it has to start today, not in two weeks,” he said.
Sources told MS NOW over the weekend that Mr. Jeffries spoke with Mr. Johnson and said that ending the shutdown this week could be in jeopardy because Democrats would not provide the votes to fast-track spending.
Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., said on “Meet the Press” Sunday that he plans to vote against the bill on the floor.
“I’m not just saying no, I’m emphatically no, and I’m going to appeal to my colleagues to vote no,” Khanna said. “I cannot in good conscience vote for further funding for ICE agents because it violates their constitutional rights.”
Democratic resistance to the package has made Johnson’s job of pushing it through much harder. His slim majority in the House, 218-213, is expected to shrink further after Democrat Christian Menefee won a special election in Texas.
“I have one vote to spare for the remainder of 2026,” Mr Johnson said. “But we are going to prove once again that this is a party that takes governing seriously.”
In addition to a stopgap for DHS, the package includes legislation that would fully fund the departments of Defense, Treasury, State, Health and Human Services, Labor, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, and Education through the remainder of the fiscal year.
This story is developing. Please check back for the latest information.
