Beltway Buzz, February 13, 2026

Lawmakers Fail to Reach Agreement on DHS Funding; Agency Shuts Down. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will shut down at 12:00 a.m. EST on February 14, 2026, after the U.S. Senate failed to reach an agreement on both an underlying funding bill and a two-week extension of current funding levels. The disagreement centers around U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) following their recent enforcement activities in Minnesota. The legislative standoff isn’t likely to end soon, as both the Senate and U.S. House of Representatives are already in recess and will be out next week. During the recess, the White House—which is leading the negotiations for the Republicans—will theoretically exchange offers with Senate Democrats. Lawmakers in both the Senate and the House have been notified that they will have forty-eight hours’ notice to return to Washington, D.C., if a deal is reached. Both chambers are scheduled to return to Washington, D.C., on February 23, 2026.

So, what will the DHS shutdown mean for employers? As the Buzz noted last week, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), the National Labor Relations Board, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the U.S. Department of State are all fully funded through September 30, 2026. As a fee-funded agency within DHS, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will not be significantly impacted. Similarly, the shutdown will have a limited impact on ICE and CBP because the agencies received $75 billion and $65 billion, respectively, in additional funding pursuant to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in 2025.

Court of Appeals Allows Implementation of Anti-DEI Executive Orders. On February 6, 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit vacated a February 2025 decision of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland that had enjoined enforcement of several key provisions of President Donald Trump’s Executive Order (EO) 14151 (“Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing”) and EO 14173 (“Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity”).

The court ruled that the plaintiffs did not have standing to challenge the provision of EO 14173 that instructs federal agencies and the attorney general to prepare a report identifying “[a] plan of specific steps or measures to deter DEI programs or principles … that constitute illegal discrimination or preferences.” The court noted that an intragovernmental report was unlikely to result in an imminent threat of injury.

The court further ruled that the plaintiffs did, in fact, have standing to challenge other elements of the executive orders but determined that they were unlikely to succeed in those challenges. According to the court, the termination of equity-related grants is not unconstitutionally vague because it is simply “the President’s directive to his subordinates about how they should allocate federal funding based on the President’s priorities.” Additionally, the court ruled that the requirement for federal grant recipients to certify “compliance in all respects with all applicable Federal anti-discrimination laws” does not restrict their ability to engage in protected speech, and that it is not enough for plaintiffs to challenge “how the Administration and its agency actors interpret antidiscrimination law in relation to plaintiffs’ DEI programming” (emphasis added). The ruling only related to the initial injunction, and the underlying merits of the case will continue to be litigated at the district court level.

Minimum Wage Set to Increase for Certain Fed Contractor Employees. Pursuant to a February 9, 2026, notice issued in the Federal Register by the DOL’s Wage and Hour Division, certain federal contractors will soon be required to increase the minimum wages they pay to employees. The increase applies to contracts covered by Executive Order 13658, issued by President Barack Obama in 2014, that were “entered into between January 1, 2015, and January 29, 2022, that were not renewed or extended … on or after January 30, 2022.” Beginning May 11, 2026, the minimum wage required to be paid to employees performing work under contracts covered by Executive Order 13658 will increase from $13.30 to $13.65 per hour (and from $9.30 to $9.55 per hour for tipped work). On March 14, 2025, President Trump issued an executive order that rescinded a Biden-era executive order that also increased the minimum wage for employees of federal contractors, while leaving President Obama’s order in place.

Bill Introduced to Eliminate H-1B Program. Congressman Gregory W. Steube (R-FL) has introduced the Ending Exploitative Imported Labor Exemptions Act (EXILE Act) (H.R.7451). The bill would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to eliminate the H-1B nonimmigrant visa program, beginning in fiscal year 2027. At this time, there are no additional cosponsors of the bill in the House, nor has a companion bill been introduced in the Senate. While the bill’s chances of becoming law are slim, it is indicative of the continued scrutiny of the H-1B program by lawmakers and regulators.

House Lawmakers Examine AI’s Impacts on Workplace Safety. This week, the House Committee on Education and Workforce continued its exploration of the growing role that artificial intelligence (AI) plays in the workplace. On February 11, 2026, the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections held a hearing, titled, “Building an AI-Ready America: Safer Workplaces Through Smarter Technology.” As the hearing’s title implies, witnesses discussed the benefits of AI-driven technology for workplace safety. Witnesses noted that AI safety technology should be considered when legislators and regulators make policy. In advancing its pending heat injury and illness prevention standard, for example, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) should consider how AI-powered heat sensors and wearable devices can provide real-time, tailored data to help prevent injuries before they occur. Witnesses also noted that the growing patchwork of AI laws in multiple states has created an overly complicated regulatory environment that could impede the adoption of AI-driven workplace safety technology in the private sector. Democrats on the committee used the hearing to promote the Warehouse Worker Protection Act (H.R. 4896).

Semiquincentennial Celebration. On February 9, 2026, the House passed the “Semiquincentennial Congressional Time Capsule Act” to help commemorate the United States’ 250th anniversary. The bill directs the Architect of the Capitol to create a “Semiquincentennial Congressional Time Capsule,” which shall be filled with items jointly agreed upon by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, the Majority Leader of the Senate, and the Minority Leader of the Senate. The bill further instructs the Architect of the Capitol to seal and bury the time capsule in the Capitol Visitor Center, at his or her preferred location, on or before July 4, 2026. Pursuant to the legislation, the time capsule will be opened on July 4, 2276—the United States’ 500th birthday—and presented to the 244th Congress, which “shall determine how the contents within should be preserved or used.”