Overview
- President Donald Trump signed the continuing resolution on Wednesday, turning a bipartisan bill into law and preventing a shutdown before the November midterm elections.
- The stopgap funds federal operations at current levels through Dec. 11 and explicitly blocks an Office of Management and Budget rule that would give political appointees greater control over federal grants until that date.
- Lawmakers approved the measure by wide margins in both chambers, with the Senate voting 90-6 and the House 370-48, and officials described it as a ‘clean’ continuing resolution without policy riders.
- Congress has not completed the 12 full-year FY2027 appropriations: the House has advanced bills in committee while the Senate Appropriations Committee has not passed any, leaving a compressed window for negotiations after the election.
- Avoiding a pre-election shutdown removes an immediate campaign liability for Republicans and President Trump but shifts the substantive and political fight over spending to the December deadline, a test that will hinge on which party controls Congress.