The House overwhelmingly passed a stopgap bill on Tuesday to avert a government shutdown at the end of the month, sending it to President Trump’s desk and punting a spending fight until after the midterm elections.
The vote was a lopsided 370 to 48, a reflection of the bipartisan enthusiasm for heading off any funding fight before November, when voters will decide which party will control Congress for the final two years of Mr. Trump’s term. It paved the way for lawmakers to quickly return to the campaign trail for the critical final weeks before the elections.
The legislation, the product of bipartisan negotiations in the Senate, would keep federal funding flowing at current levels through Dec. 11. It would also bar the Trump administration from transferring funds to the Border Patrol, a demand of Democrats who have refused to support spending to carry out the president’s immigration crackdown.
It also includes a one-month delay for a ban on intoxicating hemp products that is scheduled to go into effect in November, a provision inserted at Mr. Trump’s request that incited a mini revolt among Republicans in the Senate who opposed the measure.
“This clean short-term continuing resolution simply keeps the government open, protects the progress we’ve made and preserves the path to full-year appropriations,” said Representative Tom Cole, Republican of Oklahoma and the chairman of the Appropriations Committee. “This will allow Congress time to get past the November elections and allow us time to assess and move forward with further appropriations measures in November and December.”
It passed over the opposition of right-wing Republicans who objected to the inclusion of the delay of the hemp ban and did not include additional funding for Mr. Trump’s immigration crackdown, a key demand of Democrats.
The stopgap bill “does NOT fund CBP and ICE, leaving these agencies at the mercy to be refunded under a radical progressive Democrat administration in a few years,” Representative Chip Roy of Texas wrote on social media, laying out his objections.
Bruised from a pair of shutdowns that have consumed much of the past two years, both Republicans and Democrats were eager to maintain the status quo and steer clear of a bigger spending fight — at least until December.
The first government shutdown was in October 2025, when Democrats sought unsuccessfully to use their leverage over federal spending to force the president to cut a deal on extending expiring health care subsidies.
Another came in February 2026, when Democrats refused to fund the Department of Homeland Security, shuttering the agency as they tried and failed to pressure Mr. Trump to agree to new restrictions on federal immigration agents after the killings of U.S. citizens amid his deportation campaign.
The legislation also includes language temporarily blocking the White House budget office from carrying out a proposed rule that would allow the administration to cancel grants to recipients that do not conform to Mr. Trump’s political views and enable his team to steer significant funding to causes and organizations aligned with him.
Democrats cited that measure, in part, in explaining their support for the legislation.
“This is an important first step, but more must be done to permanently block this policy before it is allowed to take effect,” said Representative Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee. “Federal funding must be awarded as Congress intended.”
