In an unusual weekend session, the US Senate passed the “Cromnibus” government funding bill, providing funding for most government agencies through September 2015. However, the Department of Homeland Security, which includes US Citizenship and Immigration Services and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, was only funded through February 27, 2015.

The contentious 56-40 vote saw senators from both parties voting against the spending bill. “Liberal Democrats, led by Senator Elizabeth Warren, objected to a weakening of the Dodd-Frank financial reform law, while conservative Republicans, led by … [Senator] Ted Cruz, tried to sink it for failing to stop Obama’s [immigration] order.”

By the end of February, both houses of Congress will be controlled by the Republican Party, which may use its funding authority to try to block implementation of President Obama’s executive order on immigration. Specifically, Republicans are leaving the option open to “try to deny the agency any funds for … easing deportations for millions of undocumented immigrants.”