House Republicans pushed through a stopgap government funding bill this week that would keep federal agencies running through Dec. 4 — safely past the November midterms — in a move GOP leaders framed as a responsible, no-drama alternative to the shutdown fights Democrats have triggered twice in the past year.
The House voted 220-205 to extend government funding at existing levels through Dec. 4, with six Democrats joining Republicans to advance the bill. Only one Republican, Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, voted against the measure. The bill now heads to the Senate, where its fate is far less certain.
Republicans Frame It as Responsible Governing
House Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., told colleagues that “the hard reality before us is straightforward — the fiscal year deadline is outpacing the work that remains,” and that Republicans “refuse to let the obstruction and inaction of Senate Democrats trigger another manufactured shutdown.” Speaker Mike Johnson praised the bill and placed the blame squarely on Democrats who opposed it.
Republicans have pointed to this year’s earlier 76-day shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security — the longest in U.S. history, which Democrats triggered over demands to overhaul ICE and Border Patrol funding — as a preview of what could happen again if Democrats aren’t willing to negotiate in good faith before the Sept. 30 deadline.
Democrats Push Back
House Democratic leadership blasted the bill as a one-sided attempt to lock in current spending and policy priorities without their input. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Democratic Whip Katherine Clark, and Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar said in a joint statement that the continuing resolution “is a premature and desperate attempt by Republicans to abdicate their responsibility to govern while there are still several months left to negotiate a bipartisan agreement.”
An Uncertain Path in the Senate
Senate Majority Leader John Thune has said he’ll try to bring a stopgap measure to a vote before the chamber breaks for its August recess, but acknowledged it’s “possible” the fight could get “punted” further into September, leaving the funding question unresolved right up against the fiscal year deadline. With not a single annual appropriations bill having cleared both chambers so far this year, lawmakers are running out of runway to avoid another last-minute scramble.
This story is developing.
