WASHINGTON — After 43 days, the House today voted to end the longest government shutdown in history, putting in place stopgap funding until Jan. 30 — and putting in place language to fund a handful of specific defense programs.
The 222-209 vote, which fell largely along party lines, came just days after Monday night’s Senate vote for the budget plan, and was signed late Wednesday by President Donald Trump. Along with keeping spending levels to those of fiscal 2024 until the end of January, the bill ensures furloughed workers receive backpay and brings back workers who were fired during the shutdown.
The government shut down Oct. 1 after Congress failed to pass an FY26 budget. Six weeks later, seven Democrats and one Independent Senator voted with Republicans to pass the bill in a 60-40 vote. One Republican Senator, Rand Paul from Kentucky, voted against the bill.
For the most part, defense programs will have to operate under FY25 funding levels — which is to say, FY24 levels, as FY25 was a full-year continuing resolution. However, there are a few notable exceptions.
For example, the bill provides nearly $200 million for the Air Force’s E-7 Wedgetail, despite the Trump administration’s attempt to kill the program. Unpersuaded that the radar plane’s capabilities can be backfilled by other platforms and eventually shifted to space, the legislation directs the Pentagon to keep the Wedgetail’s development on schedule so that it can transition into production. It also directs unobligated procurement funds for the aircraft to be shifted into its ongoing research and development.
Additionally, roughly $1.1 billion is earmarked to be spread over 14 shipbuilding programs in order to help them complete ongoing work. Some of the programs include the Ford-class aircraft carrier program, which will receive $150 million and the Virginia-class submarine program, which will receive a combined total of over $510 million across line items.
Multi-channel data link reshapes Navy’s communications capabilities
The Network Tactical Common Data Link system enables secure comms and ISR for carrier strike groups and their air and naval assets.
Once the government is reopened, Congress can focus on reconciling the House and Senate versions of the 2026 defense policy bills. The House passed its version of the National Defense Authorization Act in September, while the Senate approved its own version a month later.
One of the biggest issues to be hashed out is that the Senate’s version of the NDAA has a topline roughly $32 billion over both the Pentagon’s budget request and the House’s NDAA.
Once Jan. 30 comes around, the House and Senate will have to reconvene to try to pass a FY26 budget. At that point, it is possible the government shuts down once again if an agreement can not be reached.
Michael Marrow in Paris and Justin Katz in Washington contributed to this report.
Updated 11/13/25 to reflect the signing of the bill.