By protecting aid for Ukraine and the Baltics, a bipartisan majority rejects Trump administration cuts while setting a deadline for a separate, volatile debate on DHS enforcement.

 Jan. 31, 2026

WASHINGTON DC – The US Senate barreled past a looming shutdown Friday night, approving a sweeping government funding package that doubles down on US support for Ukraine and the Baltics while daring House Republicans to reopen a bruising fight over immigration enforcement.

In a 71-29 vote, Senators passed five fiscal 2026 appropriations bills – covering the areas of Defense, State and Foreign Operations, Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, Financial Services, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development – after stripping out Homeland Security funding at the center of a volatile partisan standoff.

The move triggers a two-week clock to renegotiate Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding, temporarily averting a shutdown but all but guaranteeing another clash ahead.

The vote capped days of frenetic, often raw negotiations, punctuated by public outrage over the deaths of two protesters at the hands of federal agents and rare, uneasy talks between US President Donald Trump and Senate Democrats.

Trump, eager to avoid another shutdown, urged lawmakers to back the deal. Many Republicans did – but not quietly.

Ukraine stays funded

At the heart of the package is a defense bill that sends a pointed message to the White House and House conservatives alike: the Senate is not retreating from US alliances.

The $838.7 billion Defense Appropriations Act rejects Trump’s proposals to eliminate funding for Ukraine and the Baltic Security Initiative, instead locking in $400 million for Ukraine and $200 million for security cooperation with Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

It also restores funding for Taiwan security cooperation that House Republicans sought to cut, while pouring billions into munitions, shipbuilding and next-generation weapons aimed at deterring Russia and China.

“We refused Trump’s pitch to abandon our allies,” said Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), vice chair of the Appropriations Committee, after the vote. “This bill continues crucial investments and rejects dangerous proposals to further alienate our closest partners.”

Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE), the top Democrat on the defense subcommittee, framed the measure as a strategic necessity rather than a political statement.

“We are living through a dangerous moment,” he said, pointing to growing coordination among US adversaries. “This bill invests in next-generation weapons and strengthens ties with partners like Ukraine, NATO, the Philippines, Australia and Taiwan.”

Beyond geopolitics, the defense bill delivers a 3.8 percent pay rise for service members, boosts child care funding and restores billions for medical research – undoing a 40 percent cut enacted under last year’s stopgap spending law.

Foreign aid survives – barely

The State and Foreign Operations bill also rebuffs Trump-era retrenchment, restoring funding for diplomacy, global health and food security while sustaining US engagement in the Indo-Pacific.

Still, even its backers acknowledged the bill reflects the scars of a yearlong assault on foreign assistance.

“This is proof there remains broad, bipartisan support for investments that advance our national interests,” said Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI).

But he warned that the cuts that remain could leave the US overstretched at a moment of “global instability at an all-time high.”

Democrats also used the package to block what they describe as the administration’s most aggressive domestic rollbacks.

The Labor-HHS-Education bill preserves funding for cancer research, public schools and opioid treatment, while rejecting Trump’s push to slash student aid and health programs.

Transportation-HUD funding boosts transit safety, Amtrak and affordable housing, while rejecting deep cuts to rental assistance.

“This bill puts a check on the president and his continual habit of using the federal government like his slush fund,” said Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI).

Immigration fight explodes – again

But it was what the Senate didn’t pass that lit the fuse for the next showdown.

By carving out Homeland Security funding, Senators forced a separate debate over Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol operations after the fatal shootings in Minneapolis.

Under the deal, DHS funding continues at current levels for two weeks while lawmakers debate Democratic demands for stricter rules on raids, warrants, identification and accountability.

“These are not radical demands,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said. “They’re basic standards the American people already expect from law enforcement.”

Republicans fumed. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) warned the party was conceding too much, accusing Democrats of “slandering” ICE and Border Patrol agents.

Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO) was blunter: “There’s no way in hell we’re going to let Democrats kneecap law enforcement.”

Even so, a handful of Republicans signaled openness to limited reforms – an opening Democrats intend to exploit.

The bill now heads to a House that is deeply divided and not scheduled to return until Monday – raising the possibility of a brief partial shutdown over the weekend.

Speaker Mike Johnson has warned that breaking up the package leaves him with “tough decisions,” while conservative hardliners have vowed to block any Homeland Security bill that includes new limits on immigration enforcement.

For now, Senate leaders are claiming the high ground: protecting US alliances, stabilizing defense funding and daring both the White House and House Republicans to explain why they’d risk another shutdown to undo it all.

The clock is ticking – again – and Washington is bracing for the sequel.

https://www.kyivpost.com/post/69156