Congress Returns to Face Government Funding Deadline Before Midterms

The U.S. House of Representatives returned to session this week after a five-week August recess, with lawmakers focused on preventing a federal government shutdown before funding expires on September 30, according to NBC News and The Hill. The effort comes amid the lead-up to the 2026 midterm elections. The House's primary vehicle is a Senate-passed stopgap measure, known as a continuing resolution (CR), intended to keep the government funded past the deadline. NBC News additionally reported the House may also take up votes on censuring a Republican member and on Russia sanctions legislation during this work period, though The Hill's account did not corroborate these additional items. As of these reports, the CR had not yet passed the House, and its final content and timing remained pending. A separate matter—Michigan's state budget process, in which officials missed the state's constitutional October 1 deadline for the first time in 16 years—is a distinct, state-level funding dispute reported by Bridge Michigan; it is unrelated to the federal shutdown deadline and involves separate negotiations between Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and state legislative leaders, who had reached a framework agreement without disclosing details, affecting an estimated 50,000 state employees.