House Rules Committee advances GOP continuing resolution after heated dispute over DHS funding
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Summary
The House Rules Committee voted to report a rule that would send the House GOP continuing resolution for H.R. 7147 to the floor after hours of partisan exchanges about whether a bipartisan Senate amendment would immediately restore pay to TSA, Coast Guard and FEMA employees; a Democratic motion to send the Senate'9s unanimous package to the president failed on a 4'9to'98 recorded vote.
The House Rules Committee on Friday voted to report a rule that would allow the House to take up the Senate amendment to H.R. 7147, the Further Additional Continuing Appropriations Act of 2026, after lawmakers spent much of the hearing arguing about whether the Senate'9s late-night, unanimous action would immediately restore pay and operations for parts of the Department of Homeland Security.
The committee'9s chair opened by condemning the Senate amendment as a "Swiss-cheese" approach to funding and urged members to support an eight-week continuing resolution that Republican leaders drafted to buy time for negotiations. "We don'9t operate on hope. We operate on process, deliberation, and action," the chair said in opening remarks.
Rep. James McGovern, the Rules Committee ranking member, responded that House Republicans had the ability to put the bipartisan Senate bill on the floor for an up-or-down vote and accused House leadership of prolonging a partial shutdown that has left TSA and some other DHS personnel working without pay. "If the Senate bill were brought to the floor that passed last night, we could put an end right now to the unnecessary hardship that so many federal workers are facing," McGovern said.
Witnesses from the Appropriations Committee testified that the legislative history is messy: Rep. Cole (chair of Appropriations) told the committee that the Senate amendment was drafted and advanced in the early morning hours and, as written, would set certain appropriation lines for ICE and CBP to $0 for the purposes of the amendment. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the panel'9s ranking member, argued the Senate package was a bipartisan compromise that would fully fund TSA, the Coast Guard and FEMA and that the House should permit a floor vote to restore pay for those workers now.
Members disputed the funding mechanics: Democrats said TSA and other mission-critical personnel would be paid under the Senate amendment and castigated House Republicans for rejecting a bipartisan fix; Republicans said ordinary appropriations lines and reconciliation funds are distinct and warned against picking and choosing line items outside regular order.
The hearing included sharply worded exchanges over recent incidents involving federal agents and calls for agency reforms. Democrats referenced named cases and said those events increased the need for statutory guardrails before sending full funding for some agencies; Republicans said funding shortfalls hamper law enforcement efforts.
On motions, Rep. Fishbach moved the committee'9s rule that would deem the House to have taken H.R. 7147 from the Speaker'9s table with the Senate amendment and to concur with an amendment consisting of the Rules Committee print. Rep. McGovern offered an amendment to strike the committee'9s text and instead send the bipartisan Senate-passed text to the president'9s desk for an immediate up-or-down vote. The committee voted the McGovern amendment down in a recorded vote, 4 yeas to 8 nays. The committee then voted to report the majority rule to the floor by recorded vote, 8 yeas to 4 nays; Representative Fishbach was designated to manage the rule for the majority and Representative McGovern for the minority. Without objection the chair adjourned the committee.
What it means: The committee'9s action advances a House GOP-crafted continuing resolution, but divisions remain deep. Democrats say a bipartisan Senate package could have ended partial DHS funding lapses immediately; Republicans defended exercising the House'9s prerogatives and said full-year appropriations should be passed through regular order rather than last-minute fixes. The next steps are a floor vote under the rule reported by the Rules Committee and continued negotiation between the chambers.
Votes at a glance
- Motion (Rep. McGovern) to strike and send the bipartisan Senate bill to the president: failed, recorded vote 4 yeas, 8 nays. (Roll-call recorded by the clerk; several members recorded their votes during the hearing.)
- Motion to report the rule (majority manager Rep. Fishbach): agreed, recorded vote 8 yeas, 4 nays; Rep. Fishbach will manage the rule for the majority; Rep. McGovern will manage for the minority.
The committee hearing closed without additional testimony; members were warned that votes on the floor could occur later in the day and were asked to remain available.
