U.S. Senate leaders reach funding deal to avoid shutdown during campaign season

Key senators unveiled a short-term spending bill on Sunday (August 2, 2026) that would keep federal agencies funded past the midterm elections and into early December as they look to avoid a government shutdown during the middle of campaign season.

The Senate is likely to vote on the measure before leaving Washington at week's end for its traditional August recess, a period that many lawmakers want to spend shoring up their re-election prospects rather than working in the nation's capital.

The bill generally funds the federal government at current levels through December 11. The House has passed a similar measure, but it did not include various exceptions sought by the White House. Senators have been spending recent days negotiating which of those exceptions to include.

One exception that did not make it into the bill, Democrats noted, was the administration's request to include $1 billion to build "Trump-class" battleships.