Congress Approves Fiscal 2026 Defense Funding Amid Government Shutdown Threats

The Senate passed the $838.7 billion fiscal 2026 defense spending bill today, after Democrats and the White House reached a deal to largely avert a government shutdown. The bill includes full-year appropriations for the Pentagon as well as five other departments. As per the terms of the deal, full-year funding for the Department of Homeland Security was replaced by a two-week continuing resolution in the wake of the killing of Alex Pretti by federal agents last week. Breaking Defense reports that House members are scheduled to return to Washington on Monday. The White House expressed its support of the budget deal in a statement of administration policy released Thursday.