Gov. Josh Stein met with North Carolina Department of Transportation crews ahead of forecasted snow on Jan. 29, 2026. (Photo: Christine Zhu/NC Newsline)
A partial federal government shutdown appears increasingly likely as the U.S. Senate failed to advance a funding package on Thursday.
At least 60 senators must vote to approve six appropriations bills before the Friday midnight deadline. Democrats are pushing for reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement as a condition of votes for the spending package.
North Carolina’s senators, both Republicans, were divided on the issue: Sen. Thom Tillis voted in favor of the package while Sen. Ted Budd voted against it.
Although Budd expressed concerns about the shooting deaths of two people in Minneapolis, his vote isn’t related to the Democrats’ stance against Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a spokesperson said.
“For weeks, Senator Budd has expressed longstanding concerns with earmarks in the Labor–HHS title, including multiple earmarks for both abortion providers and facilities that perform gender transitions on children,” the spokesperson said.
How a partial shutdown could affect North Carolina
As western North Carolina continues to recover from Hurricane Helene, help from the Federal Emergency Management Agency remains crucial, said Democratic Gov. Josh Stein.
The Department of Homeland Security approved more than $233 million in public assistance grant reimbursements for Helene recovery projects on Wednesday, Budd’s office announced.
But a partial shutdown could hinder further disbursements to the state.
“We need the support of FEMA to help recover in western North Carolina,” Stein told reporters on Thursday. “The public assistance reimbursements need to come through. The hazard mitigation programs that help us build resilience into our infrastructure for the next storm, that needs to come through … They need to keep the government open.”
A massive winter storm tore through portions of the country last weekend. Some states, including North Carolina, are anticipating more snowfall starting Friday.
Even if a partial shutdown occurs, FEMA would have about $7 billion to $8 billion in its disaster relief fund to respond, according to The Associated Press. Congress appropriated the money in a November spending bill that ended the longest federal government shutdown in U.S. history.
“North Carolina Emergency Management is watching the potential federal government shutdown closely and hasn’t learned of any impacts at this point to the ongoing recovery operations in western North Carolina,” NCEM communications chief Justin Graney told NC Newsline.
Last year’s shutdown raised concerns about food and health benefits — especially services like food stamps, Medicare, and Medicaid.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is closely monitoring the federal budget process, according to NCDHHS press assistant Hannah Jones.
“NCDHHS will need to wait for final clarity from federal partners to know the exact impact to our programs and how it will impact beneficiaries,” Jones wrote in an email. “We are committed to communicating quickly and clearly to everyone in North Carolina who will need to navigate the consequences of a potential federal shutdown once we have more information.”
The North Carolina Department of Agriculture doesn’t anticipate significant impacts in the short term from the weather or a shutdown.
Andrea Ashby, the department’s director of public affairs, said a lot remains to be seen as members of Congress are still in discussions.
“We will continue to follow federal developments regarding government operations as a shutdown could possibly see some more long-term impacts with positions in our agency that are partially federally funded and as we await approval of our plan to distribute USDA disaster assistance for Hurricane Helene losses,” Ashby said.
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