Continuing resolution keeps federal funding through Dec. 11
The House voted 370-48 to pass a continuing resolution (CR) that holds federal funding at current levels through Dec. 11. The Senate had already passed the same stopgap bill in a 90-6 vote in July before leaving for its summer recess. By approving the CR, Congress removed the immediate prospect of a government-wide lapse in appropriations that would have occurred at the end of the fiscal period.
Office of Management and Budget rule and Border Patrol transfer limits
The continuing resolution contains two substantive policy riders highlighted in debate. First, it temporarily blocks an Office of Management and Budget (OMB) proposed rule that would place federal grant funding under review by political appointees. Second, the CR includes language that would prevent the Trump administration from transferring funds from other programs to the Border Patrol. Those provisions were sufficient to persuade some lawmakers who had opposed an earlier version of the stopgap bill to support this iteration.
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End the scrambleVotes, party dynamics, and the appropriations calendar
The House’s 370-48 margin represented broad bipartisan backing; the earlier CR that would have extended funding only through Dec. 4 had passed largely along party lines and was rejected by House Democratic leaders. House Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., said this latest version would receive “broad bipartisan support.”
House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., acknowledged the procedural strain: “The fiscal-year deadline is outpacing the work that remains” but said the continuing resolution will ensure constituents “will continue to get the services they need.” The House has so far passed three of the 12 spending bills that make up a full-year appropriations package; the Senate has passed none.
Responses from House Democrats and critics of continuing resolutions
House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., described the bill as a “marked improvement” over the prior Dec. 4 CR because it added the OMB-rule pause. DeLauro added, “The continuing resolution we are considering today is in no way a substitute for the full-year funding process. It is merely a means to complete this important work while averting a lapse in government funding.”
House Democratic Caucus Vice Chairman Ted Liu, D-Calif., signaled pragmatic support despite reservations, saying he would vote for the CR “even though doing CRs is a stupid way to run government.”
What this means for federal employees, Congress, and the Trump administration
- Federal employees: The CR removes the immediate risk of shutdown-related work stoppages or missed paychecks. The source notes that federal employees experienced the longest government shutdown last year and then the longest partial shutdown affecting the Department of Homeland Security, both of which resulted in missed paychecks.
- Congress: The CR buys additional time to negotiate the full set of fiscal 2027 appropriations, moving a hard deadline to Dec. 11 and allowing lawmakers to work through and beyond the November elections; as Tom Cole put it, the measure 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.”
- The Trump administration: The bill constrains two specific executive actions in the near term by blocking the OMB rule’s implementation and barring transfers to the Border Patrol from other programs, limiting administrative flexibility until the CR expires or is superseded.
Timeline and the road ahead
The continuing resolution sets a new near-term deadline of Dec. 11, shifting the most urgent appropriations work into the post-election window. Lawmakers on both sides characterized the CR as a stopgap rather than a substitute for a full-year appropriations process. With only three of 12 House spending bills enacted and none passed by the Senate, the next six to 14 weeks are the designated period for negotiating the remaining appropriations, reconciling House and Senate language, and addressing the policy riders the CR temporarily preserves or bars.
The CR removes the immediate crisis but leaves intact the longer-running political and procedural work of completing full-year funding. Whether Congress will use the additional time to move quickly toward full-year bills, or whether negotiations will extend to the Dec. 11 deadline, is the next clear milestone for all parties affected by these appropriations choices.
