The U.S. House of Representatives passed a short-term funding bill on Tuesday, ensuring the government will remain open through December 11 and avoiding a potential shutdown at the end of September. The bill, which had already been approved by the Senate, passed the House with a vote of 370-48 and is expected to be signed by President Donald Trump. This decision pushes the main legislative challenge for Congress — negotiating a full-year funding plan — to after the November 3 midterm elections, which will determine the balance of power in both the House and Senate for the next two years. Congress must pass 12 annual appropriations bills to fund federal operations, but the process has been stalled due to disagreements between Democrats and Republicans over spending levels. Democrats have opposed President Trump’s proposal for a $1.5 trillion military budget, which would be a significant increase from the current $1 trillion. To pass any funding bill, the Senate needs at least 60 votes, requiring bipartisan support, even though Republicans hold both chambers of Congress and the White House. House Appropriations Committee Chair Tom Cole, a Republican from Oklahoma, accused Democrats of blocking a deal that could weaken the position of Senator Susan Collins, a Republican from Maine who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee. Cole expressed hope that all 12 appropriations bills would be completed by the end of the year but acknowledged that the outcome of the midterms could influence negotiations. “We won’t know if we’ll be doing that till after the election,” Cole said. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, a Democrat from Connecticut, emphasized the need to finalize a full-year funding deal for the new fiscal year before 2027, regardless of the midterm election results. She said that while the election will have an impact, the priority is to pass the appropriations bills by year’s end. “That is a bipartisan view of where we need to go with the committee, and so that’s what we are going to press for,” DeLauro said. The Senate approved a short-term funding bill in early August, but the House had been on summer recess. The House passed the measure after GOP leaders fast-tracked it, requiring a two-thirds majority for approval. With the current funding set to expire on December 11, more than a month after the midterms, the political landscape could shift significantly. The House Appropriations Committee has advanced all 12 annual funding bills since April, but the Senate has yet to pass any of them. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, a Republican from Louisiana, said the goal is to secure a longer-term funding deal but stressed the need to keep the government functioning. Cole, however, criticized the Senate for its slow progress, saying it has failed to pass any bills in over a year and a half. He warned of either a yearlong stopgap measure or a government shutdown. A shutdown could have disrupted lawmakers’ campaign schedules, as Congress is set to be in recess for most of October to allow members to campaign in their districts.