Congress is back from its break with a familiar problem: keeping the government funded. The current continuing resolution, enacted in the fall, funds federal agencies only through December 11. Lawmakers returned this week for what is known as a lame-duck session, the period between an election and when newly elected members are sworn in, and this year's session follows a midterm election in which control of both the House and Senate shifted to Democrats.
This will be the fourth government funding cliff in roughly fourteen months. A 43-day shutdown ran from October 1 to November 12, 2025, before Congress passed a revised funding package. Two more shutdowns followed in early 2026, including a 76-day lapse from mid-February to the end of April that became the longest full government shutdown in U.S. history. Each time, the core dispute has been the same: how long a funding bill should last and what conditions should be attached to it.
This round has a new wrinkle. A group of senators, including Washington's Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, said this week that any short-term spending bill must not include the tens of billions of dollars the administration requested earlier this year for military operations related to Iran. Murray said Democrats do not intend to approve that additional funding, citing its effect on the cost of gas, groceries, and fertilizer. House Speaker Mike Johnson has said Republicans, who will lose their majority at the start of the new Congress, want to use their final weeks in power to secure funding priorities, including for the Iran operation, inside a short-term bill.
Because any funding measure needs 60 votes to pass the Senate, and Republicans hold only 53 seats, Democratic support will be required either way. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries has signaled his caucus is prepared to negotiate but wants assurances on spending levels. The lame-duck session's agenda also includes a push by some House members to begin impeachment proceedings related to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, adding another item to an already crowded final stretch of the year.
Appropriators from both chambers have been meeting but had not reached a deal as of midweek. With the Dec. 11 deadline approaching, watch for whether a short-term extension can pass before funding lapses again.
When does government funding run out?
The current continuing resolution funds the government through December 11, 2026.
What is holding up a deal?
Senate Democrats object to including additional funding the administration requested for military operations related to Iran in a short-term spending bill.
- Washington Post: One month from shutdown, Congress is far from a deal to fund government
- Missouri Independent/KTTN: Iran war funding dispute raises risk of a second federal shutdown
- Spectrum News: Congress returns for lame-duck session as GOP faces shutdown deadline
- Reference: 2026 United States federal government shutdowns