House Votes to End Partial Shutdown, Federal Workers to Be Paid for Furloughed Days

The House of Representatives voted to end the four-day old partial government shutdown with the House approving five appropriations bills for full fiscal year (FY) 2026 and a two-week funding extension for the Department of Homeland Security. The vote was 217-214. 21 Democrats joined with Republicans to pass the bill, while 21 Republicans voted against it.

The more than $1.2 trillion package funds the Departments of Defense, Labor, Treasury, Health and Human Services, Education, State, and additional agencies through September 30, the end of the fiscal year.  

It goes to President Trump’s desk for his signature, which will officially end the second shutdown in less than three months.

DHS Deadline

Congress now faces a deadline of February 13 to fund DHS, or that agency will face a shutdown starting February 14.

Democrats are demanding reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) policy, seeking further transparency and oversight.  

“ICE and the Department of Homeland Security need to dramatically change,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said. “And absent that, then a full-year appropriations bill is in deep trouble.”

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said delaying DHS funding would hurt the full department, noting that immigration enforcement has funding from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

"What they will be tying up, if the Democrats choose to close the government, is these very essential services for everything else – FEMA, Coast Guard, TSA and other aspects of national security,” said Speaker Johnson.

Federal Workers Left in Limbo  

The brief shutdown nevertheless left federal workers in limbo.

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) told affected agencies to initiate shutdown procedures starting Friday, and agencies ended up taking various approaches leading to confusion among some in the federal workforce. 

At Health and Human Services (HHS) for example, employees were told to report to work on Monday to start shutdown procedures. However, HHS changed course on at 3am Monday and told furloughed workers they could do so remotely.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) told employees to report as usual as it would use carryover funds to keep operations going. 

And the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) furloughed about 10,000 employees, with impacted staff notified on Sunday. Workers were required to report to their offices to put up out of office messages and other required procedures.

Excepted workers are on the job without pay until funding is restored. 

OPM Removes Back Pay Language but Federal Workers to be Paid

Meanwhile, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) removed language from its shutdown guidance that guarantees backpay for furloughed workers once the shutdown ends. 

OPM wrote that “Congress will determine via legislation whether furloughed employees receive pay for furlough periods.”

OPM similarly walked back assurances on back pay during the 2025 shutdown until Congress included retroactive pay in the final spending agreement.

The legislation ending this partial shutdown included language guaranteeing back pay.