The US House of Representatives on Tuesday approved a stopgap measure to prevent a government shutdown until early December, as Republican leaders sought to sidestep a politically volatile issue ahead of the November midterm elections.
House passes continuing resolution
The continuing resolution, which authorizes government spending until December 4, passed by a vote of 220-205, largely along party lines. The measure now moves to the Senate, where it requires bipartisan support to clear the chamber. Current government funding expires on September 30.
Top Republicans argued that the bill's passage was necessary to prevent Senate Democrats from blocking funding measures, as they did last year for a record 43 days in protest over expiring tax credits that lowered healthcare costs. Democrats also blocked funding twice this year to push for immigration enforcement reforms after the killings of two US citizens in Minneapolis.
Republican strategy and Democratic opposition
"Our conference refuses to let the obstruction and inaction of Senate Democrats trigger another manufactured shutdown at the end of September. That is why we are acting before a funding lapse crisis, not in response to it," said Tom Cole, the House Appropriations Committee chair who spearheaded the resolution.
Earlier Tuesday, lawmakers voted 214-211 to advance the stopgap measure along with a budget framework that could pave the way for a $95 billion party-line package. The Constitution tasks Congress with authorizing government spending, and both chambers typically aim to pass 12 appropriations bills each year. However, missed deadlines often force the use of continuing resolutions.
While the House has passed three appropriations measures for the 2027 fiscal year starting October 1, the Senate—where top Democrats and Republicans remain far apart in spending talks—has approved none, nor have any advanced through committees. Republican leaders in the Senate said they are negotiating with Democrats on their own short-term funding bill.
DeLauro criticizes Republican approach
Rosa DeLauro, the Democratic ranking member on the House Appropriations Committee, denied her party sought a shutdown and called a stopgap measure "necessary." However, she opposed the Republican-backed bill, labeling it "hastily" conceived and noting it allocated funds for border patrol without "substantial reforms" to an agency central to Donald Trump's crackdown on undocumented immigrants.
"We are putting the cart before the horse by considering this legislation without understanding the full scope of what is needed to continue operations through December 4," DeLauro said.
Outlook and midterm implications
If the Senate fails to pass the measure, funding negotiations will intensify in September, when Congress returns from its August recess with the end-of-month deadline looming. Talks could be complicated by the approaching midterm elections, where Democrats hope to retake the House and potentially the Senate. To win a Senate majority, Democrats would need to pick up at least three seats in states that backed Donald Trump in 2020.
