Short or Long? Congress Weighs FY 2026 CR as Shutdown Looms
With days left before the fiscal year begins, lawmakers are split between a short stopgap through mid-November and a longer extension into early 2026.
Congress still hasn’t enacted any of the twelve regular FY 2026 appropriations bills. The House has passed only three—Defense, Military Construction‑VA, and Energy & Water—and the Senate has yet to pass a single bill on the floor. Without action, much of the government will shut down at midnight on Sept. 30, leaving defense contractors and research agencies in limbo.
Two rival approaches have emerged for the looming stopgap. White House officials and conservative House Republicans want a long continuing resolution through January 31, 2026, or later. A long CR would keep agencies funded at FY 2025 levels and postpone hard decisions on spending cuts and policy riders until after the election. Appropriations leaders in both chambers, however, favour a short CR through mid‑November that pairs the stopgap with three bipartisan spending bills – Military Construction‑VA, Agriculture‑Rural Development‑FDA, and Legislative Branch – so they can be enacted immediately. Senate Appropriations Vice Chair Patty Murray and House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole have been discussing this mid‑November package, and grant negotiators a few extra weeks to finalize the other nine bills.
The debate has turned personal. Ranking Appropriations Democrat Rosa DeLauro called the administration’s push for a January 31 CR “extreme,” arguing it undermines Congress’s power of the purse. Speaker Mike Johnson counters that Democrats must work with Republicans to avoid a shutdown, while Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer warns that if Republicans refuse to negotiate, they will be blamed for a shutdown. The administration’s decision to withhold roughly $4.9 billion in foreign aid – a so‑called pocket rescission – has also angered Democrats and some Senate Republicans, further complicating talks.
- If you remember, one of the earliest actions taken by the then-new SecDef, now SecWar, was to conduct an 8% cut budget drill. And to do this, 8%, every year. That's sequestration. And sequestration cedes all power of the purse of the executive - Congress would go full 'reek'. This crew will do it, too. I am reminded of the quote from John Milton's incredible Paradise Lost, "Better to reign in Hell, than to serve in Heaven". This move would also make DC, as it was, melt - and be a popular move with [probably] most of the country. It's extreme - it's "nuclear" - it's unlikely. It could happen. The democrats aren't likely to go to the mat with the Republicans.
If leaders can’t reach agreement before Sept. 30, observers expect Congress will pass a short CR into November as the least disruptive option. A mid‑November stopgap would maintain pressure to complete the remaining appropriations and avoid the uncertainty of a months‑long extension. Whether the CR runs for six weeks or four months will determine how quickly defense programs, veterans’ benefits, and research grants get funded in the new fiscal year. With days left before the fiscal year begins, lawmakers are split between a short stopgap through mid-November and a longer extension into early 2026.
