The House of Representatives voted 370-48 on Tuesday to send a short-term government funding bill to President Trump's desk, clearing the last legislative hurdle to avert a shutdown just weeks before voters head to the polls in the midterm elections. The continuing resolution, which had already cleared the Senate on August 8 before lawmakers left for summer recess, keeps federal agencies funded through December 11, pushing the next spending showdown to after Election Day.

Nineteen Republicans and 29 Democrats voted against the measure, but it sailed through with bipartisan support from a chamber eager to avoid a repeat of the record-length shutdown earlier this year. Speaker Mike Johnson had signaled the strategy days earlier, telling Fox News, "I hate CRs. We shouldn't do this, and we're not going to do it again next year. We're going to get back to the actual lawful appropriations process that the American people deserve. But this is a necessary step to bridge that gap to get us there and prevent a government shutdown."

A Late Revolt Over Hemp

The path to passage was not smooth. House Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris of Maryland threatened to tank the GOP's entire floor agenda over a provision delaying a ban on intoxicating THC-infused hemp products by a month, writing on social media that "these are not harmless hemp products. They're intoxicating, unregulated, and widely available resulting in devastating numbers of children being hospitalized." Conservatives also objected to language holding up a White House budget office rule that would give political appointees more power over the federal grant-approval process — the same provision that helped win over Democrats.

"If the rule comes out without the CR in it, with a hemp amendment to undo what the Senate did, I'm voting against the rule."

On the other side of the aisle, House Appropriations Committee ranking Democrat Rosa DeLauro told colleagues in a closed-door meeting that the measure was a "marked improvement" over an earlier GOP version, citing provisions blocking the Department of Homeland Security from shifting funds to Border Patrol and delaying the grant-approval rule Democrats see as a tool for the administration to punish disfavored programs.

Despite the hardliner threats, GOP leadership brought the bill up under suspension of the rules — a fast-track procedure requiring two-thirds support — bypassing the normal process conservatives might have used to extract concessions. That maneuver drew fresh blowback from the right flank even as it guaranteed passage with Democratic votes in reserve.

The bill now awaits Trump's signature, which is expected imminently given his administration's role in negotiating the deal. With funding secured into December, both parties avoid a politically hazardous shutdown fight in the campaign's final stretch — but the underlying disputes over hemp regulation, grant authority, and full-year appropriations remain unresolved, setting up another confrontation in the lame-duck session after voters decide control of Congress.