On Wednesday, Sep. 2, President Donald Trump signed the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, a continuing resolution (CR) that extends current levels of federal government funding until Dec. 11, 2026.
While disputes over CRs have become a sort of ever-present background noise inside the Beltway, they typically reflect important policy concerns and can have extensive impacts on upcoming elections, like the midterm elections coming in November 2026.
Both parties were under pressure to fund the government before the new fiscal year begins on Oct. 1. A government shutdown one month before the election could reflect badly on either or both parties – and it’s hard to predict which one would end up worse off.
The bill’s passage follows lopsided Senate (Aug. 7) and House (Sep. 1) votes that indicated the consensus that neither party wanted a shutdown.
Fiscal Year 2026 funding has proceeded in a piecemeal fashion, with several votes on appropriations bills taking place as conflicts were resolved (or at least postponed) related to different agencies and funding priorities. November 2025 through February 2026 saw the most bills signed by the president, with the majority of the government funded through the end of the FY on Sep. 30. This funding included appropriations for the departments of Energy, Labor, and Transportation.
However, tensions related to immigration enforcement and the conduct of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (IEC) agents delayed funding for the Dept. of Homeland Security, home to ICE as well as the U.S. Border Patrol. These disputes were not resolved until June, with passage of a reconciliation bill funding the remaining agencies.
Whether similar tensions will drag into 2027 depends on the makeup of the 120th Congress, which will take office after the midterm elections in November. Given that the past year’s chaos was generated under a unified government where one party controls both houses of Congress and the White House, the capacity for delays and protracted debates if the Democrats win back control of the House or Senate is significant.
With the national debt recently surpassing $40 trillion, pressure is mounting on Congress to find common ground on the federal budget. It’s no surprise that Congress delayed the attempt until next year.
IEC will keep its members informed of the FY2027 budget process and potential impacts on the merit shop electrical contracting industry.