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Republicans set up a broad House vote on a $1.2 trillion spending package Thursday, including funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), after Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., worked through the night to quell a rebellion over Midwestern Republican power demands.
The House Rules Committee voted 9-4 to advance two spending bills needed to avert a government shutdown scheduled to begin on Jan. 30.
While the compromise appears to have eased concerns among GOP lawmakers in the Midwest, part of the DHS funding is still causing anger among progressives and conservatives alike over its actions against US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
One bill would fund the Departments of Military, Education, Labor and Health and Human Services and the second is aimed at DHS – including ICE.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., tells reporters at the Capitol Visitor Center in Washington, Nov. 10, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)
According to comments from lawmakers on Fox News Digital, about 20 Republicans have threatened to kill the spending bill during a key vote later Wednesday. They want to include a provision to allow year-round sales of E15 ethanol, a type of gasoline blend.
Under the current Clean Air Act, sales of E15 are restricted due to failure to pass Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations.
Johnson, who left the Rules Committee on Thursday morning, said he had reached an agreement with the would-be rebels.
“It’s a very positive development,” Johnson told Fox News Digital.
“We decided to represent the conference well last night that we will establish the E15 Domestic Energy Council. It will not be made up of members from all the conferences with different views but also those who participate – refiners, people in the industry.”
That council, Johnson explained, will take a closer look at the demands made by Midwest Republicans and weigh them against the environmental protections the country has. He said he expected those talks to be “a meaningful effort” but did not elaborate on what kind of decision he expected to see.
A source close to the matter told Fox News Digital that the agreement would mandate that the task force meet every month next month with the goal of recommending legislation by February 25.
SENATE ADVANCES $174B PACKAGE AS MINNESOTA ICE SHOOTING FUELS DHS FIGHT FOR MONEY
The bill will next face a procedural vote known as a “legislative vote,” where the entire House weighs whether to allow debate and final consideration of a measure or set of bills.
Legislation votes often fall along party lines even if the underlying bills have bipartisan support, meaning Johnson can lose no more than two GOP votes and still advance legislation.
If passed, the two separate spending packages will be combined later for Senate consideration.
CONNECTIONS BILL DRAWING FIRE FROM LEFT AND RIGHT AS DEALERSHIP DEADLINE
Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, left, pictured next to Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., vice chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, right. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images; Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Questions remain as to whether House GOP leadership will be able to rally Republicans on other aspects of the legislation, as concerns have surfaced among conservatives about the new ICE requirements. Those provisions, sought by Democrats, include requiring ICE agents to wear body cameras and receive more training in public relations.
It also keeps funding levels significantly lower than levels from FY2025 and even lowers some of the ICE removal jobs allocations.
But that’s not enough for a large number of Democrats. Many have made it clear they won’t support the bill, saying the law doesn’t do enough to strengthen ICE operations after Renee Nicole Good was killed during a deadly standoff with ICE agents in Minnesota earlier this month.
“All the oversight programs in the world make no sense if the administration is not going to follow the legislation and the language that we pass. Members should consider that,” said House Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., said House Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar, D-Calif. “Finally, the members will vote [for] what is good for their regions.”
Democrats tried to insert key left-wing items into legislation during the House Rules Committee meeting, including measures targeting President Donald Trump’s agenda on Greenland, Venezuela, and ICE.
CONGRESS PUSHES OUT $80B SPENDING BILL AS DEMS CALL DHS FUNDING THROUGH FEAR
Deposed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro arrives at the Downtown Manhattan Heliport in New York City, Jan. 5, 2026. (Eduardo Munoz/Reuters)
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Among them are amendments to prevent any funds in the bill from being used to attack a country protected by NATO and a measure to prevent federal funds from being used for military actions against Venezuela after Trump carried out a military operation to arrest the country’s president, Nicolás Maduro.
Amendments to the DHS bill also sought to reduce DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s salary to one dollar or defund the agency entirely.
Those amendments were largely symbolic protests, however, and were not included in the final bill.
