In a rare show of functional governance in a sharply divided Congress, Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine), ranking Republican and chair of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee, announced Friday that the Senate is moving forward on a significant package of government funding bills for fiscal year 2026.
The move marks a modest but meaningful step toward restoring order to the federal budget process after years of dysfunction and short-term stopgaps.
“It’s taken a great deal of work, good faith and negotiation to get to this point,” Collins said on the Senate floor, underscoring the bipartisan cooperation required to advance the first tranche of full-year appropriations.
The Senate is expected to vote late Friday on a group of three funding bills that cover a broad range of agencies and priorities: the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Agriculture, the Food and Drug Administration, legislative branch operations, military construction, and rural development.
Prior to the final vote, lawmakers will consider a series of amendments from both parties.
The roughly $180 billion package allocates the lion’s share of its funding to programs that traditionally garner strong bipartisan support, including services for veterans and military construction—areas where Republicans have long insisted federal dollars are most appropriately spent.
Still, getting to this point was no small feat.
The path to Friday’s vote was marred by internal disputes on both sides of the aisle. Republicans voiced concern over excessive spending levels in legislative branch allocations, while Democrats once again attempted to obstruct funding efforts tied to the Trump administration’s long-planned relocation of the FBI’s headquarters.
Democratic Appropriations Committee Chair Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) acknowledged the fragility of the negotiations and warned against further reliance on continuing resolutions (CRs)—temporary funding measures that have become the norm in recent years.
“We cannot have another slush fund CR that gives away more power to Trump,” Murray said, echoing concerns on the left over President Trump’s growing influence over the federal bureaucracy.
Yet for conservatives, the concern isn’t temporary funding giving “power” to Trump—it’s that Democrats continue to resist necessary structural reforms while demanding ever-larger spending commitments, particularly in non-defense domestic programs.
Collins’s measured leadership, however, has once again proven critical to advancing responsible budgeting that centers on priorities such as veterans’ care and rural development.
As lawmakers prepare to leave Washington for the August recess, the passage of these initial bills provides a rare moment of momentum.
But even with this modest success, Congress faces a looming challenge: reaching agreement on the remaining appropriations bills before the start of the new fiscal year on October 1.
The threat of another government shutdown—fueled by the same partisan gridlock that has plagued previous cycles—still hangs over Capitol Hill.
When lawmakers return in September, they will be staring down contentious debates on broader government funding.
But with leaders like Collins pushing for serious legislative governance and a return to regular order, conservatives are finding renewed hope that at least part of Washington is still willing to do the job.
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