Trump Signs Stopgap Bill, Keeping Government Open Through Dec. 11

WASHINGTON, President Trump signed a stopgap spending bill into law Sept. 2, averting what would have been the third major government shutdown threat of his second term and pushing the next fiscal deadline past the November midterm elections.

The measure, formally designated H.R. 6500, keeps federal agencies funded at existing fiscal year 2026 levels through Dec. 11. It doesn't set new spending amounts for fiscal year 2027.

The House cleared the bill Sept. 1 by a vote of 370 to 48, according to reporting by Government Executive. The Senate had already passed the measure 90 to 6 on Aug. 8. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told reporters that morning that Congress was "going to avoid the threat" of another government shutdown.

The lopsided margins marked a sharp break from months of bitter standoffs. Federal employees had already lived through two significant shutdowns earlier this year: a 4-day lapse in late January and a 76-day partial shutdown that confined to the Department of Homeland Security and stretched into April, according to GovtSchemes.org, which tracked the bill's provisions.

Two contested policy riders made it into the final text. Section 157 of the act bars the Office of Management and Budget from issuing or finalizing its May 29 proposed rewrite of federal grantmaking rules, formally called the Regulation for Federal Financial Assistance, through Dec. 11. If OMB finalizes the rule before enactment, the legislation states the rule "shall not have force or take effect" through that date, according to an analysis by BDO, an accounting and advisory firm.

The proposed rule would have required federal grants to receive sign-off from senior political appointees, among other changes. Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins, R-Maine, said in a statement she had pushed for "significant changes to the proposed rule," citing concerns about what she described as its potential to politicize grants and harm small, rural communities and biomedical research, according to the University of Washington's federal relations office.

The bill also blocks the Trump administration from transferring funds from other Customs and Border Protection accounts into Border Patrol operations, a restriction Democrats pressed for and that Collins said avoided "poison pills" that could have sunk the deal.

The continuing resolution doesn't resolve either fight. It doesn't withdraw the OMB rule or reject its provisions permanently, according to BDO's analysis. A new deadline arrives Dec. 11, and full-year fiscal 2027 appropriations remain far from done. As of the bill's enactment, only three of twelve annual appropriations bills had passed the House, and none had passed the Senate, according to GovtSchemes.org.

Lawmakers from both parties said openly they wanted the larger budget fight pushed past November. The next Congress convenes in January, and the pressure of a midterm election dampened appetite on both sides for a prolonged standoff.

The White House encouraged lawmakers to support the stopgap ahead of the vote. The administration has not said publicly how it intends to handle the OMB grant rule once the Dec. 11 freeze expires.

Sources cited:
- Government Executive (https://www.govexec.com/management/2026/09/shutdown-threat-lifted-house-passes-stopgap-spending-bill/415753/)
- GovtSchemes.org (https://govtschemes.org/government-shutdown-2026-update/)
- BDO (Uniform Guidance analysis) (https://www.bdo.com/insights/industries/nonprofit-education/what-the-continuing-resolution-means-for-ombs-proposed-uniform-guidance-rewrite)
- University of Washington Federal Relations (https://www.washington.edu/federalrelations/2026/08/03/senate-strikes-bipartisan-stopgap-funding-deal-delays-ombs-proposed-rule/)
- NPR (https://www.npr.org/2026/09/01/nx-s1-5951536/house-government-funding-vote-midterms)
- NBC News (https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/senate-leaders-reach-deal-avert-shutdown-2026-elections-rcna590564)