The US government has been partially shut down since October 1, and Speaker Mike Johnson is now floating a continuing resolution that would keep the lights on past November 3, potentially extending funding all the way to January 30, 2026. In plain English: Congress couldn’t agree on how to spend money for fiscal year 2026, so they’re trying to buy themselves more time with a temporary patch.
Here’s the thing. This isn’t the first attempt at a quick fix. The House passed a short-term CR back in September 2025 that was supposed to keep the government funded for seven weeks. The Senate killed it. Now Johnson and his colleagues are back at the drawing board, trying a different approach while federal workers and government services hang in the balance.
What actually happened
The timeline here matters. Congress failed to finalize fiscal year 2026 appropriations before the deadline, triggering a partial government shutdown on October 1. The House had tried to head this off with a seven-week stopgap measure in September, but Senate votes on that bill fell short.
Johnson has since conditioned bringing the House back into session on whatever the Senate does first.
