The federal government will now be funded through December 11 after President Donald Trump signed a continuing resolution from Congress on Wednesday night.
The CR passed both the House and Senate by wide bipartisan margins, and it avoids a government shutdown close to the midterms. Last year, there was a 43-day long shutdown for the entire government, and then an even longer shutdown for the Department of Homeland Security this spring over immigration disagreements. DHS was ultimately reopened as the result of a reconciliation bill, which only needs a simple majority in the Senate rather than breaking through the two-thirds threshold.
If the president did not sign the legislation, funding would have expired at the end of the month. However, the CR is also a stopgap move, and permanent funding through the end of fiscal year 2027 will eventually need to be sorted out by Congress.
"I’m glad that congressional Republicans not only prioritized removing the threat of another dangerous government shutdown, but we did our job weeks before the deadline and with bipartisan support," Senate Majority Leader John Thune posted to X after it passed the House. "While funding the government is one of our most basic responsibilities, my hope is that this effort proves that government shutdowns serve no one, and we should quickly complete our work on the fiscal year 2027 appropriations process."
Then-White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Townhall in July that the White House was firmly supportive of measures to avert a government shutdown.
“The White House's stance is that the government needs to be funded. This president and Republicans on Capitol Hill from both chambers as you just mentioned the House and the Senate Republicans want to keep the government open,” Leavitt said at the time.
“We want to work together to find ways to do that and the White House will continue will continue to have discussions with Senate leadership on the best path forward,” she continued. “I don't want to get ahead of those conversations, but the most important thing for the American people to know is that this president and this White House want the government to remain open, unlike the Democrats in this town who have been acting as obstructionists."