The House on Tuesday night approved a short-term spending bill that would keep the federal government funded through Dec. 4, pushing the next shutdown deadline beyond the midterm elections. If the measure also clears the Senate, Republicans would avoid the immediate risk of a government shutdown in the final stretch before voters head to the polls.
That outcome, however, remains far from guaranteed. With Democrats opposed to the House GOP plan, Republicans are warning that their rivals could try to force another shutdown fight and blame President Trump and congressional Republicans as November approaches.
The bill’s prospects in the Senate were uncertain, particularly after the Senate Republican leader raised doubts about how quickly the chamber could act. Because spending legislation typically requires at least some bipartisan support to advance in the Senate, Democratic resistance could stall the measure.
The House passed the continuing resolution in a largely party-line 220-to-205 vote. Such stopgap funding bills are often taken up only days, or even hours, before federal money runs out. This time, though, House Republican leaders moved months ahead of the Sept. 30 deadline, putting Democrats on the spot by daring them to vote against a clean temporary funding extension.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., responded to the passage of the continuing resolution on X, arguing that Republicans had acted responsibly while accusing Democrats of using shutdowns as a political weapon.
Johnson said House Republicans had taken “the responsible step” by passing a clean, short-term funding bill to keep the government open through the November elections. He criticized the 204 House Democrats who opposed the measure, saying their votes showed indifference to the hardship a shutdown would cause for Americans and for hundreds of thousands of federal employees who could be required to work without pay.
The speaker added that, although there is still time before the fiscal year ends, Republicans are not assuming Democrats will cooperate ahead of a pivotal midterm election. Johnson claimed Democrats believe a disruptive shutdown could benefit them politically, and he warned that if they do not change course, they alone would bear responsibility for the resulting chaos.
