Little progress has been made in the effort to come to an agreement on Fiscal Year 2026 funding. aWith little time left before the start of the Fiscal Year on October 1, the House and Senate are no closer to a compromise and are in recess all week. Before recessing, the House passed a GOP-drafted “clean” bill to extend government funding until Nov. 21 at current funding levels with no policy changes included.
However, in the Senate, Democrats blocked passage of the House GOP bill, with only one Democrat crossing the aisle to back the measure. Senate Republicans countered by turning away a Democratic alternative that would have kept the government open until Oct. 31. While political dynamics could shift in the days leading to the deadline, a government shut down appears very likely as the House does not return until at least Oct. 1, meaning no votes until after a shutdown starts.
In exchange for their support for a continuing resolution, Democrats are asking for an extension of enhanced premium subsidies for Obamacare, which is something many Hill Republicans want as well. Democrats are also demanding a roll back of the massive Medicaid cuts in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Democrats are also frustrated that Trump has refused to release congressionally appropriated funding for some programs and would like to stop that.
“The contrast between the Republican bill and the Democrat bill is glaring,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said before the votes. “The Republican bill is a clean, non-partisan, short-term continuing resolution to fund the government to give us time to do the full appropriations process, and the Democrat bill is the exact opposite.” Democrats criticized Republicans for refusing to negotiate a bipartisan version.
President Trump told congressional Republicans not to negotiate a deal. Thune intends to continue to push this week for an agreement in the Senate in hopes of avoiding a shutdown. Speaker Johnson and the House GOP leadership appear to be comfortable with having the House out of session next Monday and Tuesday as the government shuts down.