From The Hill: The Senate’s race to avert a shutdown hit the skids late Thursday night as Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) placed a hold on the government funding package, forcing leaders to punt the vote.
Senators had been hoping to vote on the “minibus” after leaders struck a deal earlier in the day and President Trump endorsed it. Under the agreement, the Senate was set to vote on a package of five full-year funding bills and a stopgap measure funding the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for two weeks.
But as lawmakers awaited word on the vote late Thursday, a fired-up Graham emerged from Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s (R-S.D.) office and declared, “We’re not voting tonight.”
Graham pointed to language in the bill that would repeal a provision allowing senators to sue if their phone records were collected as part of former special counsel Jack Smith’s probe.
“I fixed the problem that people had. I’m not going to ignore what happened. If you were abused, you think you were abused, your phone records were illegally seized — you should have your day in court,” Graham argued. “Every senator should want to make sure this never happens again.”
Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin said Friday morning that a partial government shutdown now appears imminent.
A partial government shutdown appears imminent — with 78% funding set to expire at 11:59PM tonight.
Can Congress reach a deal? @BillMelugin_ has the latest from Capitol Hill. pic.twitter.com/bo6sQVbE6l
— FOX & Friends (@foxandfriends) January 30, 2026
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