House Republicans Restore Order: Congress Passes Clean Funding Extension and Full-Year Appropriations Bills to Reopen Government
Washington, D.C. – The House of Representatives passed the Continuing Appropriations, Agriculture, Legislative Branch, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Extensions Act, 2026, with a vote of 222 to 209.
After a damaging and unnecessary shutdown that lasted 43 days, a funding extension that House Republicans called for and passed in September is finally headed to President Trump’s desk. Senate Democrats voted against this clean, nonpartisan measure 15 times over the course of the six weeks they held the government hostage.
In addition to the continuing resolution, Congress approved three full-year appropriations bills covering the Legislative Branch, Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Rural Development, and the Food and Drug Administration.
Passage of this first tranche of bills is strong Article I progress for Appropriators, who have already advanced all twelve bills through the full committee. With the rest of the federal government now funded through January 30, 2026, the Appropriations Committee will continue working to move our remaining nine full-year bills across both chambers. This regular order momentum ends the era of backroom omnibus deals and puts taxpayers first.
While Democrat leadership and their progressive caucus determined that inflicting pain on the American people was their pathway forward, reason overturned their obstruction in the end. Republicans acted responsibly and stood with the nation from the start. Now, the Democrat shutdown is behind us, and Congress can refocus on the work the American people expect and deserve.
Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK) said, "History reminds us that shutdowns never change the outcome — only the cost paid by the American people. This Democrat-led crisis proved just that. Minority Leaders Jeffries and Schumer have inflicted real pain across the nation for weeks. And for what? The funding extension we passed today reflects our position from the start. Democrats manufactured chaos, delayed paychecks, and disrupted vital services — only to end up exactly where Republicans, President Trump, and the American people said we should be all along. Forty-three days later, they gained nothing but the damage they caused: missed paychecks, lapsed nutrition assistance, stalled programs, and shaken public trust. Today, that ends. We’re reopening government, restoring stability, and continuing the hard work of delivering full-year appropriations through a transparent, line-by-line process. I hope Democrats remember this lesson: true courage is taking responsible action for the nation even when politics makes it inconvenient."
Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Subcommittee Chairman John Carter (R-TX) said, "For 43 days, Americans unnecessarily suffered because Democrats wanted to use them as leverage in a twisted political game. The legislation we passed today ends that suffering and responsibly reopens the government. It provides a runway to negotiate the other bills that need to be completed while providing year-long certainty for America’s veterans to access mental health services, medical care, and homelessness programs. I applaud Chairman Cole for his endless work to get us to this point and commitment to return to regular order. I hope as we face the January deadline, Democrats think long and hard about the impacts of their actions and instead choose to responsibly work with Republicans to tackle the remaining funding bills quickly."
Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Subcommittee Chairman Andy Harris (R-MD) said, "Millions of Americans have suffered unnecessarily because the Democrats refused to reopen the government – including those who depend on SNAP benefits, federal workers, border patrol agents, and our troops who were uncertain about their next paycheck. This legislation provides critical funding to support America’s farmers, ranchers, and rural communities and it ensures both USDA and FDA can safeguard our nation’s food and drug supply. Republicans have effectively locked in disciplined, flat spending levels while supporting the Trump Administration’s policy priorities and I thank Appropriations Committee Chairman Cole for his leadership throughout this process."
Legislative Branch Subcommittee Chairman David Valadao (R-CA) said, "For over 40 days, Congressional Democrats have held our country hostage, and today I was proud to vote to reopen the government and return to regular order. As Chairman of the Legislative Branch Subcommittee, I’m pleased that this bill strengthens Capitol security by increasing funding for sworn officers and staff, maintains the historic U.S. Capitol complex, and reopens our nation’s institutions to students, families, and visitors from across the nation. I want to thank Chairman Cole for his leadership throughout this process and look forward to working with my colleagues in the House and Senate to deliver the rest of the full-year funding bills for the American people."
Chairman Cole’s floor remarks are available here.
Continuing Appropriations, Agriculture, Legislative Branch, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Extensions Act, 2026
Clean, Nonpartisan Funding Extension
- This clean and straightforward short-term CR — free of poison pills — simply extends funding until January 30.
- The bill represents our original position, underscoring that Democrats have gained nothing during this shutdown other than wreaking havoc on the American people.
- It reopens government and blocks any Democrat attempt of a bloated, last-minute mega-omnibus bill right before Christmas.
- It supports a return to regular order and continued work in advancing full-year FY26 bills.
- Importantly, it includes no partisan demands, including far-left attempts to restrict presidential authority.
- Republicans held the line and proved what we’ve been saying since the start of this shameful charade: the people’s government is not a pawn for leverage or political extortion.
A Return to Regular Order
- There is no better way to end the cycle of shutdown threats than to pass and have President Trump sign into law full-year FY26 appropriations bills.
- Continuing progress on this front was the very purpose of the initial funding extension the House passed in September.
- We wanted to keep the government open to provide more time to pass full-year appropriations and allow for bipartisan, bicameral policy conversations.
- This reflects the Republican commitment to restoring a transparent, orderly approach to funding the government.
- Before Democrats forced this shutdown, we had made real, measurable progress on FY26 appropriations – and the House moved to conference with the Senate on the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, and Legislative Branch bills.
- This marked the first time since Fiscal Year 2019 that regular appropriations bills advanced to conference, demonstrating real progress in restoring regular order.
- Appropriators acted decisively and began a member-driven process to finalize those bills.
- This is a notable and important change from backroom, bloated omnibus deals that sideline rank-and-file members and ignore the will of the American people.
- Even though Democrat leadership undermined this legislative process and squandered time that should have been utilized on passing and conferencing more bills, Republican Appropriators refused to back down in their commitment to delivering full-year appropriations, restoring regular order, and ending the shutdown Democrats chose.
Making Appropriations Great Again
- Our regular order efforts and conference committee determination paid off.
- This legislation includes three bipartisan, bicameral full-year appropriations measures, covering the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs; Legislative Branch; and Agriculture, Rural Development, and Food and Drug Administration divisions.
- These three bills have been negotiated between the two chambers and reflect a final, full, and bipartisan agreement.
- They are products that implement Trump Administration priorities, reflect fiscal restraint, and implement stable funding for critical agencies.
- The Appropriations Committee proved that we can be disciplined and hold spending levels effectively flat while delivering for American taxpayers.
- As a united conference, we are upholding our Article I duties while executing the America First agenda.
- These bills represent more than 10% of discretionary spending — funding that can no longer be taken hostage if Democrats irresponsibly choose to shut down the government again.
- Taken as a whole, these bills support America’s veterans, farmers, and agriculture, and keep government working for our constituents.
For full bill summaries:
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