Progress on the government shutdown stands at eleven of twelve appropriations bills enacted, with the Department of Homeland Security the sole remaining department without full-year funding after its short-term extension expired on February 13, 2026. A partial shutdown limited to DHS began on February 14 and has no set resolution date. Fiscal year 2026 has already produced a 43-day full shutdown last fall and a four-day partial shutdown at the end of January, and Congress still has to fund DHS through the end of the fiscal year on September 30.
Where Things Stand Right Now
Eleven of the twelve annual spending bills have been signed into law. Three departments — Military Construction/Veterans Affairs, Agriculture/FDA, and the Legislative Branch — were fully funded back in November through September 30, 2026.1U.S. House Committee on Appropriations. House Republicans Restore Order: Congress Passes Clean Funding Extension The remaining departments, except DHS, received full-year funding in a spending package Congress passed in early February.
Homeland Security is the outlier. It received an extension only through February 13, and when that lapsed, DHS entered its own funding gap. The rest of the federal government is operating normally.
How FY2026 Got to This Point
Congress passed none of the twelve appropriations bills before the October 1, 2025 start of the fiscal year, and the entire federal government shut down. The impasse ran 43 days and furloughed hundreds of thousands of workers. On November 12, the House voted 222–209 to end the shutdown on a staggered schedule: three bills got full-year funding, and the other nine departments continued under a continuing resolution set to expire January 30, 2026.1U.S. House Committee on Appropriations. House Republicans Restore Order: Congress Passes Clean Funding Extension
January 30 arrived with no deal. The government partially shut down again on January 31. Within days, Congress passed a broader package funding most remaining departments through September 30, 2026. DHS got a shorter leash: funding only through February 13. That extension has now expired.
Why DHS Was Left Out
The Homeland Security bill has become a magnet for policy riders on border enforcement, immigration priorities, and related issues. Non-budgetary provisions attached to must-pass spending bills are a routine obstacle, but the current politics around immigration have made the DHS bill especially hard to close. That DHS is the last unfunded department reflects how deep those disagreements run.
Two other disputes have shaped the broader FY2026 fight and continue to affect negotiations:
Expired ACA Premium Tax Credits
The enhanced Affordable Care Act premium tax credits expired on December 31, 2025. That issue was the primary trigger for the original 43-day shutdown, with Democrats insisting on an extension and Republicans arguing health care policy belonged in separate legislation. The credits lapsed on January 1, 2026. The House has since passed a three-year extension, and the measure is awaiting Senate action. In the meantime, marketplace premiums have spiked and an estimated four million people are projected to lose coverage.
Spending Levels
Disagreements over non-defense spending have persisted throughout. The defense authorization for FY2026 landed at roughly $900.6 billion, well above the original presidential budget request. Both parties broadly agree defense spending should rise; they disagree on whether non-defense programs should grow at the same pace or face cuts.
What the DHS-Only Shutdown Affects
The current lapse has a narrower footprint than the full closure last fall, but it still touches significant operations. DHS components include Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Coast Guard, FEMA, the Secret Service, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
Employees performing law enforcement and security functions continue working as “excepted” under 31 U.S.C. 1342, which allows federal work without pay during a funding lapse when duties involve emergencies threatening life or property.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 31 USC 1342 – Limitation on Voluntary Services Administrative and support functions are curtailed. Furloughed and excepted DHS employees are both guaranteed back pay once funding is restored under the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019.3U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019 Federal contractors supporting DHS have no such guarantee. Proposed legislation like the True Shutdown Fairness Act would extend pay protections to contractors, but it has not been enacted.
One point of confusion worth clearing up: passport and visa processing largely continues. The State Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services are primarily funded through application fees rather than annual appropriations, so their operations are not directly affected.
What’s Still Running Normally
Because eleven bills are enacted, the vast majority of federal operations are unaffected by the current lapse.
Social Security checks continue on schedule. The program is mandatory spending and does not depend on annual appropriations. Medicare claims continue to be processed and benefits are not interrupted.
SNAP and WIC are both funded through September 30, 2026 under the spending bills already enacted, so the current DHS-only lapse does not affect them.4USDA: Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services. 2024 Contingency Plan
The IRS received full-year funding in the early February package, so tax operations are continuing as normal. Filing deadlines are unaffected, and refund processing is running on schedule.5Internal Revenue Service. Statement on IRS Operations Limited During the Lapse in Appropriations
Federal student loan servicing, FAFSA processing, and campus-based aid disbursements are also unaffected. Borrowers should keep making payments on schedule.6Federal Student Aid. Government Lapse in Appropriations – Federal Student Aid Processing and Customer Service Guidance
What Has to Happen Next
The remaining task is straightforward on paper. Congress needs to pass a Homeland Security appropriations bill. Lawmakers can either negotiate a full-year measure funding DHS through September 30 or pass another short-term continuing resolution to buy more time. Both paths require a majority in the House. In the Senate, appropriations measures typically need 60 votes to clear a filibuster, which effectively requires bipartisan support.7U.S. Senate. About Filibusters and Cloture
That 60-vote threshold is the practical bottleneck. Neither party can fund DHS alone, and whichever side holds more leverage on the policy riders can drag out the process. Once both chambers pass identical legislation and the President signs, DHS funding is restored immediately.
No public deadline has been set for the next vote. Until one is scheduled and passed, the DHS shutdown continues.