Partial U.S. government shutdown begins after House delay on funding

Federal funding for a broad range of agencies lapsed at 12:00 a.m. Eastern on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026, producing a partial government shutdown after the House of Representatives did not approve a Senate‑passed spending package before the deadline. The Senate approved the five‑bill package late Friday but the House was out of session, making the lapse inevitable while lawmakers were away, reporters said.

The Senate measure would fund most agencies through the end of the fiscal year in September while providing only a two‑week continuing resolution for the Department of Homeland Security. That short extension was negotiated to buy time for talks over immigration enforcement reforms after the killing of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis by federal agents, a development NPR said “changed the dynamic.” Senate Democrats pressed the White House for concessions, with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer saying, “We need to rein in ICE and end the violence,” according to BBC.

Dozens of federal agencies saw their funding lapse at 12 a.m. Saturday, kicking off the partial shutdown, CBS reported. The departments explicitly cited as affected include Defense, State, Treasury, Transportation and Health and Human Services, while DHS was granted the two‑week extension, BBC and CBS said. FEMA, as a component of DHS, is tied to that short extension. CBS also noted that some agencies will be unaffected because Congress had already approved funding for them, naming the Justice Department, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency.

The White House issued a memo directing agencies to begin shutdown procedures and instructing employees to report for “orderly shutdown activities.” In language quoted by BBC, the memo said, “Employees should report to work for their next regularly scheduled tour of duty to undertake orderly shutdown activities,” and added, “It is our hope that this lapse will be short.” The White House has asked agencies including Transportation, Education and Defense to execute shutdown plans, BBC reported.

Agency operations typically continue for core or excepted functions, but non‑excepted personnel are placed on furlough when appropriations lapse. The congressional legal guidance reviewed by reporters reiterated that federal agencies must shut down affected projects and may furlough non‑excepted staff during a funding gap, and that the government’s general practice has been to retroactively pay furloughed employees after a shutdown ends.

The immediate impact will hinge on how quickly the House acts when it returns on Monday. The Senate package includes five appropriation measures identified by NPR as Defense; Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education; Transportation, Housing and Urban Development; State; and Financial Services and General Government. President Trump urged House Republicans to back the bipartisan agreement, BBC reported, but the lower chamber must still vote to enact the bills.

The lapse follows a prolonged 43‑day funding impasse in October and November 2025 that caused wide disruption to services and left many federal workers unpaid, BBC noted. Observers cautioned, and PBS noted in past coverage, that brief funding lapses have in the past produced minimal disruption when resolved rapidly. For now, agencies are implementing contingency plans, congressional and executive officials are preparing for negotiations, and the fate of funding depends on a House vote expected when lawmakers reconvene.