A Senate plan to take up a major fiscal 2026 appropriations package on the floor next week is looking increasingly like a long shot.
After finally bringing a 43-day partial government shutdown to an end, Senate leaders were eager to get going on long-delayed appropriations work for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1.
Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., had said he intends to take up the Defense spending bill next week and, with unanimous consent, attach as many as four additional bills to the measure to pass a massive package making up most of the year’s discretionary spending. Those bills could include Labor-HHS-Education, Commerce-Justice-Science, Interior-Environment and Transportation-HUD.
