House Returns to Partial Government Shutdown

The House of Representatives returns to Washington this week with hopes of quickly ending a partial government shutdown that began over the weekend.

The House Rules Committee will meet on Monday for the first procedural vote on the funding package. If that succeeds, a final vote on the House floor is expected on Tuesday. The House will also consider legislation requiring the Department of the Interior to expedite approval of priority hardrock mining projects on federal lands, and a joint resolution to block a temporary Washington, D.C. law that decouples the district’s tax code from certain federal changes made under President Trump’s 2025 tax law. Full House votes on the contempt resolutions for former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are also expected this week.

The Senate will await the result of the House’s action on the funding package as it continues to negotiate the details of DHS funding, which would expire on February 13th if the package becomes law. Once an agreement on DHS is met, it will take each chamber anywhere from several days to a week to pass. That effectively means that Congress and the White House need a deal imminently in order to get the bill to President Trump’s desk by the deadline.

Lawmakers in both chambers will convene committee hearings this week, including the following:

  • The Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s subcommittee on Europe and Regional Security Cooperation will explore pathways to European energy security
  • The Senate Judiciary Committee’s subcommittee on Federal Courts, Oversight, Agency Action, and Federal Rights will examine the alleged Somali fraud in Minnesota and elsewhere
  • The House Education & Workforce Committee’s subcommittee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions will discuss adopting artificial intelligence in the workplace
  • The House Energy and Commerce Committee’s subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations will examine fraud in Medicare and Medicaid
  • The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will identify cybersecurity challenges to protecting America’s water infrastructure