Senate passes stopgap to avert pre-election shutdown

The Senate passed a stopgap spending bill early Saturday that would keep the government funded through Dec. 11, moving Washington closer to avoiding another shutdown before the November midterms.

Why it matters: The bipartisan 90-6 vote would push the next government funding deadline past Election Day while offering some checks on the Trump administration.

State of play: The measure, which now goes to the House, generally maintains funding levels after the fiscal year ends Sept. 30, with a few negotiated exceptions.

• It blocks the administration from implementing a proposed rule to give senior political appointees a larger role in reviewing federal grants, the Associated Press reported.
• It prevents the administration from transferring money from other programs to the Border Patrol.
• It rejects a White House request for $1 billion to begin work on President Trump's proposed new class of battleships.
• And it delays for one month a looming ban on intoxicating hemp products, an issue that divided Senate Republicans.

Zoom in: The grants provision could prove one of the more consequential pieces of the short-term bill.

• The Office of Management and Budget proposed rewriting rules in May to require senior political appointees review and consider whether discretionary grants advance the president's agenda.

The big picture: The Senate worked through the night, taking votes on the stopgap funding measure, the confirmation of Attorney General Todd Blanche and a failed voter ID measure, which would change voting requirements.

• The vote reflects how eager lawmakers in both parties are to avoid putting another shutdown at the center of an election campaign.

What's next: The House will have to approve the Senate's changes after lawmakers return from their August recess.

• If it does, Washington will have traded a possible pre-election shutdown fight for a potentially much larger post-election showdown in December over spending levels, Trump's grantmaking powers and the rest of the unfinished fiscal 2027 appropriations process.