The Majority Leader of the Senate, John Thune, a Republican from South Dakota, announced on Friday afternoon that the Senate is preparing to vote on a series of amendments and then pass a spending package to provide funding for federal agencies and institutions.
However, the House of Representatives is still in recess and is not expected to reconvene until Monday, leading to an inevitable funding gap for the United States government over the weekend.
The spending package is expected to pass in the Senate before midnight on Friday, with the deadline for the government shutdown set for 11:59 pm Eastern Time on Friday, the 30th. It is anticipated that some federal government departments will partially shut down over the weekend, but the shutdown may not be prolonged.
“We may inevitably face a brief government shutdown,” Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters on Thursday, “but the House will fulfill its responsibilities.”
The House Rules Committee is scheduled to meet on Sunday to expedite the process of passing the legislation in the House of Representatives.
The White House has indicated that government agencies will officially begin the shutdown process on Saturday, with operations set to resume the same day if the House of Representatives passes the legislation.
This situation contrasts sharply with the fall of 2025 when the Republican and Democratic parties were deadlocked on healthcare issues, leading to a record-breaking 43-day government shutdown and an estimated $11 billion loss in the U.S. economy.