2026-09-013us
contested

House votes Sept. 1 on a stopgap that funds the government to Dec. 11, pushing the shutdown deadline past the midterms

The Senate already passed it; House leaders want it done in a day, moving the next funding cliff five weeks past the Nov. 3 election.

The House returned Monday, Aug. 31, after a five-week recess and prepared to vote Tuesday, Sept. 1, on a stopgap spending bill already passed by the Senate. The measure would fund federal agencies through Dec. 11, 2026, which is 38 days after the Nov. 3 midterm elections. Tim Moore (Rep-R North Carolina) said the "votes are there" for passage. Other legislation remains stalled. "The big bills will probably have to wait until after the election," said Morgan Griffith (Rep-R Virginia).

What the Senate loaded onto the stopgap beyond flat funding:

  • Extends federal highway programs and Highway Trust Fund authority — the money that pays for road and bridge projects — to Dec. 11 alongside the funding itself
  • Blocks a proposed White House budget-office rule that would give political appointees more say over which federal grants get approved
  • Delays by 30 days a national ban on most intoxicating hemp products that was set to take effect

Senate passed this stopgap and left, so a House amendment would need the Senate back

Sen. Kevin Cramer's release sets out what the Senate actually passed — funding to Dec. 11 plus the surface-transportation and Highway Trust Fund extension — which is the text the House is being asked to accept unchanged.