House passes stopgap spending bill to avert government shutdown ahead of 2026 midterms

The U.S. House on Tuesday voted, 370-48, in favor of a stopgap spending measure that is expected to avert a government shutdown this fall ahead of the 2026 midterm election, despite objections from GOP hard-liners.

The legislation, which the Senate passed in August before breaking for its summer recess, would keep the government funded through Dec. 11.

The measure now heads to President Donald Trump's desk for his signature.

Without passage, government funding is set to lapse at the end of the federal fiscal year, Sept. 30. That's a prospect neither party was keen on as lawmakers hope to quickly return to their districts and continue campaigning ahead of the midterms.

House leadership brought the bill to the floor using a process known as "suspension of the rules," which allows consensus measures to circumvent certain procedural hurdles but requires a two-thirds vote. That meant Democratic votes were needed in the narrowly divided chamber. The package ultimately got broad, bipartisan support. Just 19 Republicans and 29 Democrats voted against the measure.

"Thanks to the House Republicans' leadership and the foresight back in July, we began the necessary processes to ensure that the government would not be shut down," House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said after the vote. "We are not going to have our troops in harm's way without getting paychecks."

But before the vote, members of the hard-right House Freedom Caucus raised concerns about both the bill and the process. The lawmakers threatened to hold up what Johnson expected would be a quick vote to pass the measure, which extends current government funding levels.

Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, sent a letter on Monday to House Appropriations Committee Chair Tom Cole, R-Okla., and House Budget Committee Chair Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, outlining his concerns with the stopgap spending measure, among them its funding for Planned Parenthood and the absence of a ban on hemp products that contain THC, the psychoactive chemical in marijuana.

"I have serious concerns about simply extending the status quo. Members should be clear about what passage of this legislation would mean: Congress would once again affirmatively fund policies we have spent months fighting to change," Roy wrote.

And Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., who chairs the Freedom Caucus, told Punchbowl News he would vote to block the rest of the GOP's agenda for the week over his objection to the spending measure.

But their opposition was not enough to hinder the vote. With Democratic support, Johnson passed the funding measure even with some GOP defections.

Most lawmakers will be eager to get back to their districts this election season, as Republicans strive to overcome Trump's low approval rating and hold on to narrow majorities in the House and Senate. Polling shows Democrats are largely expected to win control of the House, while the GOP is favored in the Senate.

Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Patty Murray, D-Wash., applauded the spending bills' passage in a statement on Tuesday, but said more work is needed to be done to curb the Trump administration.

"We have a lot of work ahead in the coming months to negotiate spending bills that invest in families instead of President Trump's war budget, and I will be pushing at every step of the way to invest in making life more affordable and rein in the corrupt abuses of this administration," Murray said.