Senate Leaders Reach Deal to Avert Shutdown Before 2026 Elections

WASHINGTON — Senate leaders have struck a bipartisan agreement to keep the federal government funded past the 2026 midterm elections, avoiding a politically fraught shutdown in October. The deal, announced Sunday by Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Vice Chair Patty Murray (D-Wash.), would keep government funding flowing at existing levels through December 11, 2026, according to NBC News.

The continuing resolution, or CR, was advanced by the Senate in an 89-4 procedural vote on Monday evening, with only Senators Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Rand Paul, and Tim Kaine opposing the motion, according to the Anadolu Agency. The chamber aims to pass the legislation this week before leaving for its five-week August recess.

Why This Deal Matters

The agreement comes as federal funding is set to expire at the end of September 30, which would trigger a full government shutdown on October 1 if Congress fails to act, NBC News reported. The stopgap measure buys lawmakers time to negotiate a longer-term funding solution after the November midterm elections, when the results will likely shape the direction of the next full-year appropriations package.

The urgency is heightened by the recent history of shutdowns in this Congress. The 2025 shutdown lasted a record 43 days — from October 1 to November 12 — surpassing the previous record of 34 days set during Trump’s first term, according to The Sandspur. A partial Department of Homeland Security shutdown in early 2026 lasted at least 31 days, affecting TSA workers, FEMA disaster relief, and other agencies before Congress passed a bill in April to fund most of DHS, according to NorthJersey.com.

House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole (R-Okla.) captured the sentiment driving the preemptive action, telling CBS News: “We want to take away the possibility of a shutdown between now and the election. We’ve seen that happen twice in this Congress already, generated by the Senate, and I’m not willing to risk a third time if we can avoid that.”

Key Provisions of the Senate CR

The Senate version of the continuing resolution includes several provisions that distinguish it from the House-passed bill, NBC News reported:

• Food program protections: The CR includes “necessary adjustments” (known as anomalies) for the SNAP and WIC food programs, as well as disaster relief and national security programs.
• Border Patrol loophole closed: The Senate bill closes a loophole in the House version that would have allowed the Trump administration to transfer funds from other programs to Border Patrol. Murray argued the agency “desperately needs reform, not more money,” according to CBS News.
• OMB grants rule blocked: The legislation temporarily blocks implementation of a White House Office of Management and Budget proposal that would allow political appointees to review and potentially cancel federal grants. Collins said she advocated for significant changes to the proposed rule in a July 6 letter to the agency, citing its potential to politicize grants and harm small, rural communities, families, and biomedical research, according to the NY Post.
• Pentagon restrictions: The bill imposes specific constraints on the Pentagon, prohibiting the launch of new production projects or multi-year procurements during the funding period.
• No Trump war spending: The CR does not include the major military increases the administration requested, such as an additional $1 billion for a warship.

Bipartisan Support and Criticism

Collins called the stopgap bill “straightforward” and said it avoids “poison pills,” adding, according to NBC News: “This measure gives Congress the time we need to continue our work on bipartisan appropriations bills, which are always my strong preference for handling annual government funding.”

Murray echoed that sentiment, saying, “It’s good that we were able to produce a much-improved CR to keep the government funded and avert a shutdown that no one wants,” NBC News reported. She noted the bill “rejects Trump’s frivolous war spending wish list” and blocks implementation of what she called “OMB’s corrupt new grants rule for the duration of the CR,” according to the NY Post.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) called it “a strong bipartisan piece of legislation” and expressed hope it would receive “overwhelming support from both parties,” according to the Anadolu Agency. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) described the CR as “a responsible path forward,” thanking Murray for “her success blocking Trump’s disgraceful efforts to further politicize all federal grants,” NBC News reported.

Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, also praised the Senate bill as “a clear improvement over the House Republican continuing resolution,” NBC News reported.

However, the deal faces opposition from some Republicans. Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) was blunt in his assessment, telling NBC’s “Meet The Press” via the NY Post: “Will I vote for it? The short answer is no. The long answer is hell no.” He argued the deal would “take away President Trump’s authority to review government grants,” calling any agreement to that effect “top of the heap, king of the hill, A-number-one stupid.”

Political Implications

The deal carries significant political weight as the 2026 midterm elections approach. Democrats need a net gain of four seats to retake control of the Senate, with 35 seats up for election — 22 of them currently held by Republicans.

Collins, who faces a competitive re-election bid in Maine this fall against Democratic nominee Troy Jackson, has touted her ability to reach bipartisan deals on government funding as a key part of her case to voters, NBC News reported. The shutdown-avoidance deal gives her a tangible example of that cross-party work.

The Senate GOP’s narrow majority requires bipartisan support to pass most legislation due to the 60-vote filibuster threshold. This dynamic has made compromise on funding essential, even as Trump has pressured Senate Majority Leader Thune to keep the Senate in session and potentially end the filibuster to pass the SAVE America Act, which would require proof of citizenship for voter registration, according to BakersfieldNow.

What’s Next

The Senate is expected to pass the CR this week before beginning its five-week recess on August 6. The House, which has already left Washington for recess, returns on August 31 and will need to reconcile its version — which funds the government through December 4 — with the Senate’s December 11 deadline.

The two chambers will need to work out their differences in September, when both are back in session. The House passed its own funding bill on July 21 in a 220-205 vote, with six Democrats joining all but one Republican, according to CBS News.

If the chambers can reach a compromise, the government will remain funded through at least early December, pushing the next funding fight past the November elections. If they cannot, the threat of a third shutdown in this Congress looms large.

For now, the bipartisan deal represents a significant step toward stability — one that lawmakers on both sides hope will carry the government through the election season and beyond.