House lawmaker urges passage of five appropriations bills, two-week DHS stopgap

An unidentified member of the House urged lawmakers to approve five of the remaining fiscal year 2026 appropriations bills and enact a two-week continuing resolution for the Department of Homeland Security to avoid a partial government shutdown before the Jan. 30 deadline.

"The house has done a tremendous job these last few months," the speaker said, noting that six appropriations bills "have been signed into law by President Trump," which the speaker said fully funds those departments and agencies through the end of the fiscal year. The speaker said the remaining six bills have passed the House and that failing to complete funding now "could have and should have been avoided."

The speaker described a recent bipartisan, bicameral agreement reached two weeks earlier and urged colleagues to move forward on the remaining measures. The approach the speaker outlined would advance five full-year appropriations bills while providing a two-week continuing resolution for the Department of Homeland Security so the White House could continue negotiations. "This approach delivers full year funding to more than 95% of the government," the speaker said.

The speech cataloged policy priorities the speaker said are covered by the package, including strengthening defense and a troop pay raise; advancing biomedical research and critical education programs; improving the safety and reliability of aviation and infrastructure; supporting small businesses; and enhancing cybersecurity. The speaker warned that a shutdown would harm federal employees and services, saying it would again leave workers temporarily unpaid and "wreck havoc on our airports," noting that Transportation Security Administration operations and aviation safety agencies would be affected unless funded.

The speaker also quoted President Trump as engaging directly in negotiations, saying, according to the speaker, that "President Trump is leading by example and engaging directly with Democrats" and that the president said, "we need to get the government open." The speaker urged bipartisan cooperation and asked members on both sides of the aisle to "do the right thing and close out 5 of our remaining 6 appropriations bills for FY 2026," calling the measures a responsible way to govern.

No formal vote or roll-call outcome on the proposed package or the continuing resolution was recorded in this transcript. The speaker concluded by urging members to support the bipartisan package so funding could be completed for FY2026.

Next steps were not recorded here; the speaker framed the immediate objective as passing the five bills and the short stopgap for DHS so the government would remain funded while negotiations continue.