Senate leaders reached a bipartisan government funding bill through December 11, extending federal spending at current levels and avoiding a shutdown that would have begun October 1. The continuing resolution passed the Senate early Saturday with a 90-6 vote, clearing the chamber before lawmakers left for their August recess.
The deal, announced Sunday by Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Vice Chair Patty Murray, D-Wash., funds federal agencies through December and gives Congress time to negotiate full-year appropriations bills after the midterm elections. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., called passing the measure his top priority before recess, noting that Americans have already experienced two record-breaking government shutdowns in the past 10 months.
The bill includes provisions that block the White House from transferring funds to Border Patrol and freezes a controversial rule from the Office of Management and Budget that would give political appointees greater authority over federal grants. Collins said the rule, if implemented, would “politicize grants and harm small, rural communities, families, and biomedical research.” The measure also extends funding for SNAP and WIC food programs and includes disaster relief.
Democrats sought the grant-authority freeze because they feared the administration would use it to punish political opponents or reward allies. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer called the original proposal “disgraceful” and said it would “further politicize all federal grants.” Republicans on the Appropriations Committee, including Collins, joined Democrats in opposing the rule, allowing the language to pass with bipartisan support.
The House passed its own funding bill extending government spending through December 4 but did not include the grant-authority freeze or all of the Democratic priorities now in the Senate measure. The House is scheduled to return from recess on August 31 and will need to reconcile its version with the Senate bill before sending it to the President.
Both chambers moved unusually early on the stopgap measure because neither party wanted to risk a shutdown during the midterm campaign. The Senate endured a record 43-day government shutdown from October through November 2025, followed by a separate 76-day battle over Department of Homeland Security funding. Senate Republican Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.V., said taking the shutdown threat off the table before the election was essential: “I don’t think we need to have the harbinger of a possible government shutdown.”
The measure now awaits House action. While some House fiscal conservatives may object to extending federal funding without spending cuts, the Senate’s overwhelming vote margin suggests the bill will likely advance. If the House passes it before September 30, the government will remain funded through December 11, pushing the next funding deadline past the midterm elections and into the lame-duck session of Congress.
Sources
- NBC News — Senate leaders’ bipartisan agreement, continuing resolution details, funding levels, grant-authority rule freeze, Democratic and Republican statements
- PBS NewsHour — Senate funding deal announcement, House bill comparison, grant politicization concerns, previous shutdown history
- The Hill — Senate vote count (90-6), passage timing, hemp-derived THC provision dispute, White House budget office rulemaking, House reconciliation process
