Senate passes government funding stopgap, leaves town

After days of drawn-out negotiations, the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passed a short-term government funding stopgap early Saturday morning.

Both chambers of Congress now leave for the entire month of August. The House must approve the Senate’s continuing resolution when it returns before President Donald Trump can sign it into law and prevent a government shutdown on Oct.1.

Unlike the House-passed CR, which simply freezes government funding across agencies at current levels until Dec.4, the Senate’s alternative additionally adjusts funding for certain programs through Dec. 11.

The Senate’s CR slightly boosts funding for SNAP, FEMA disaster relief, wildfire management, U.S. Navy shipbuilding, small business loans, and multiple federal housing programs to meet expected demand through Dec. 11.

It also extends some programs and grants set to run out of funding on Oct. 1, the end of fiscal 2026. Those include the Food for Peace program and other foreign aid; highway infrastructure and surface transportation programs; ...