Senate leaders reach a deal to avert a shutdown before the 2026 elections

WASHINGTON — Senate leaders have struck a bipartisan agreement to keep the government funded past the 2026 midterm elections and avoid a politically tricky shutdown in October.

Funding currently expires at the end of Sept. 30, triggering a full government shutdown on Oct. 1 if Congress fails to act.

The continuing resolution , or “CR,” was announced Sunday by Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Vice Chair Patty Murray, D-Wash. It would keep funds flowing at existing levels until Dec. 11.

The Senate is slated to hold a procedural vote to advance the legislation on Monday, with the goal of passing it this week before the chamber leaves for its August recess.

It would give time for congressional leaders to pursue a longer-term solution after the midterm elections, when the results will likely shape the direction of the next full-year funding package.

But first, it will need to pass the House, which has already left Washington for the August recess and returns in early September. House Republicans passed their own funding bill through Dec. 4, and the two chambers will need to work out their differences.

Collins said the Senate stopgap bill is “straightforward” and avoids “poison pills” while attaching “necessary adjustments” for the SNAP and WIC food programs, as well as disaster relief and national security programs.

“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,” said Collins, who faces a competitive re-election bid in Maine this fall and has touted her ability to reach bipartisan deals on government funding in making her case to voters.

Murray said the bill fixes issues Democrats had with the House-passed version and “rejects Trump’s frivolous war spending wish list.” She said it closes “loopholes” for the administration to transfer funds from existing programs to Border Patrol, which she said “desperately needs reform, not more money.” And she said it blocks implementation of a proposal by the White House budget office that would “allow Trump officials to cancel grants at any time for any reason.”

“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,” Murray said in a statement.

The legislation was negotiated with input from top party leaders in the Senate. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called it “a responsible path forward.”

“I thank Senator Murray for her tireless work on this deal and her success blocking Trump’s disgraceful efforts to further politicize all federal grants,” Schumer said in a statement. “Democrats remain committed to funding negotiations that help hardworking Americans get ahead and stymie Trump’s wasteful, corrupt agenda that has failed families.”

Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, also praised the Senate bill as “a clear improvement over the House Republican continuing resolution.”