Senate Passes Stopgap Funding 89-4 to Avoid Shutdown. Congress Then Left Town for Five Weeks.

NewsOnScale Staff

October 3, 2026

The Senate passed a stopgap government funding bill 89-4 this week, avoiding a government shutdown that would have hit on October 1. The vote was one of the most bipartisan of the year.

Then Congress left Washington until November 9.

The stopgap keeps the government funded at current levels through a date to be determined, buying time for full appropriations bills that have not been passed. It resolves nothing about the federal budget, adds nothing to address the water system cyberattacks hitting facilities across 12 states, and does nothing about AI regulation — the stated subject of last week's White House tech summit.

The 89-4 vote is notable for what it says about the moment: when the alternative is a shutdown, Congress can find bipartisan agreement almost unanimously. On everything else, it cannot.

Both chambers return November 9, one week after Election Day.

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