February 2026: tariffs struck down, climate rules rescinded, second shutdown begins

If December was where the architecture began shifting, February was where the shifts produced visible consequences across multiple policy domains simultaneously.

The first shutdown ends

The four-day partial shutdown that began January 31 ended on February 3 when the House voted 217-214 to clear a Senate-negotiated package combining a continuing resolution with five full-year FY2026 appropriations bills (Defense, Labor, HHS, Education, Transportation, HUD), plus a short DHS continuing resolution running to February 13. The deal preserved most domestic discretionary baselines but left DHS funding unresolved. (Federal News Network)

The second shutdown begins

When the short DHS continuing resolution expired February 13, negotiations broke down over Democratic demands to constrain ICE detention and CBP enforcement funding following the late-January Minneapolis shootings. The Senate passed five other funding bills but stripped DHS appropriations to keep negotiating leverage. The DHS-only shutdown — affecting immigration courts, TSA pay, and FEMA grant processing — began February 14 and would last until April 30, becoming the longest partial shutdown in US history. (Senate Appropriations)

Supreme Court strikes down IEEPA tariffs

On February 20, the Court ruled 6-3 in Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act does not authorize the president to impose tariffs. Chief Justice Roberts wrote the majority joined by Sotomayor, Kagan, Gorsuch, Barrett, and Jackson. Kavanaugh dissented, joined by Thomas and Alito. The ruling vacated tariffs that had generated more than $200 billion in revenue but left open the question of refunds. (SCOTUSblog)

Within hours, Trump issued EO 14388 imposing a 10% temporary import surcharge under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 to preserve part of the trade agenda. (Sidley)

EPA rescinds the endangerment finding

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin signed a final rule on February 12 rescinding the 2009 endangerment finding and repealing all motor vehicle GHG standards. The rescission strips EPA’s authority to regulate emissions from vehicles and sets up forthcoming repeals for power plants and other sectors. The action took effect April 20 and is now in active litigation. (NPR)

House overrides Canada tariff emergency

On February 11, the House passed H.J.Res. 72 by 219-211 to revoke the national emergency under which Trump imposed 25% tariffs on Canadian imports. Six Republicans crossed over to join Democrats — a rare bipartisan rebuke. The vote preceded by nine days the Supreme Court ruling that gutted the underlying tariff authority. (govtrack)

Medicaid provider-tax rule finalized

CMS issued the final “Preserving Medicaid Funding for Vulnerable Populations” rule, eliminating state financing arrangements relied on by California, New York, Illinois, Michigan, Massachusetts, Ohio, and West Virginia. Implementing provisions of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the rule restricts the state provider-tax mechanism used to draw down federal Medicaid match. Georgetown researchers estimated billions in lost state revenue. (CMS)

SNAP non-citizen restrictions take effect

On February 1, new federal rules under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act narrowed SNAP eligibility for lawfully present non-citizens. Combined with December’s expansion of work requirements to veterans, former foster youth, homeless adults, parents of children over 14, and adults 55-64 without dependents, SNAP participation fell by more than 3 million people (8%) between July 2025 and January 2026 per USDA data. (CBPP)

Federal-court immigration rulings

A federal judge issued an 81-page opinion finding the administration’s policy of deporting migrants to third countries violates federal immigration law and Convention Against Torture due-process protections. The opinion required the administration to give migrants notice of the destination country and an opportunity to assert torture-based claims, restoring practice that predated the second Trump administration. (Slate)

Maryland ends 287(g)

Governor Wes Moore signed two emergency bills on February 17 terminating Maryland’s local-law-enforcement 287(g) agreements with ICE and barring future ones. Existing agreements wind down by July 2026. The legislation contrasts with Florida, where 287(g) operations now drive nearly 30% of immigration arrests. (American Immigration Council)

Virginia advances reproductive amendment

Governor Abigail Spanberger signed the resolution on February 6 placing a constitutional amendment protecting abortion access on Virginia’s November 2026 ballot, after the legislature passed it in two consecutive sessions. The amendment, if ratified, would be one of the most significant reproductive-rights protections in any Southern state. (State Court Report)

Redistricting arms race

The Maryland House of Delegates approved a Democratic-drawn congressional map 99-37 on February 2, as Texas, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, and other Republican-led states redrew maps mid-decade. Democratic-led Maryland, New York, and Virginia responded with their own attempts to neutralize GOP gains. (Frontline Democracy)

Labor

The Kaiser healthcare workers strike expanded on February 9 as approximately 3,000 UFCW members joined nurses and other Kaiser employees, alleging Kaiser walked away from bargaining. San Francisco teachers staged their first strike since 1979 in mid-February, citing rising healthcare premium costs and stalled contract talks. (OnLabor)

Housing

The House passed the Housing for the 21st Century Act 390-9 on February 9, packaging affordable-housing finance, oversight, and regulatory streamlining measures. HUD released 2026 income limits (averaging 3.4% higher) and the Operating Cost Adjustment Factor (5.2% average) the same week. (Bipartisan Policy Center)

Education

The Department of Education released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on January 29 eliminating Graduate PLUS loans, capping Parent PLUS, and restructuring repayment. The NPRM, building on the OBBB, would take effect July 2026 and represents the most consequential restructuring of federal student lending since the Direct Loan program’s expansion. The Department issued default-prevention guidance to colleges on February 18. (Department of Education)

What February produced

February changed federal authority on three fronts simultaneously: tariff authority (the IEEPA ruling), climate authority (the endangerment-finding rescission), and appropriations procedure (the DHS-only shutdown). Each individually would have been a significant policy story; together they reshaped the operational environment for the rest of 2026.

The DHS shutdown that began February 14 would extend through March, April, and into late April. The endangerment-finding rescission would face its first major court tests in March and April. The IEEPA tariff ruling would produce a series of legal-authority pivots — Section 122 surcharge, Section 232 pharmaceutical tariffs, Section 301 investigations — that would continue to fail in the courts through May.

The pattern through the rest of the spring was substantially set in February.