Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) laid out a backup plan Tuesday to avoid a government shutdown this fall, announcing that Senate Republicans will “hold” any budget reconciliation framework passed by the House as a potential vehicle to pass stopgap funding.
Speaking to reporters, Thune said the Senate will not act immediately on a House budget resolution. Instead, they will keep it in reserve to move a continuing resolution if necessary. “If they give us a budget resolution as a vehicle, we will hold that subject obviously to be able to move a continuing resolution to fund the government,” he said.
The strategy reflects GOP fears that Senate Democrats could filibuster a short-term funding bill in September, potentially triggering a shutdown weeks before the midterm elections. Democrats blocked a clean continuing resolution last year after Republicans refused to include extended health care premium subsidies set to expire at the end of 2025, leading to a 43-day shutdown—the longest in U.S. history.
Thune acknowledged the uncertainty, saying, “It’s a possibility that if necessary we could pull that budget resolution passed by the House and use it to fund government. I hope that’s not necessary.” He added that bipartisan talks on a funding resolution that would carry past the November election have been “productive.”
House Republicans last week unveiled a stopgap bill to fund the government through Dec. 4, but its prospects remain unclear. The measure would need Democratic votes to clear both chambers, and House GOP leaders are pushing the bill early to sidestep a shutdown fight before the midterms.
The budget reconciliation process is key to Thune’s plan because it allows legislation to pass the Senate with a simple majority, bypassing the 60-vote threshold needed to overcome a filibuster. Senate Republicans already used reconciliation in June to pass a $70 billion package funding Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol through 2029, despite strong Democratic opposition.
Thune indicated that GOP leaders may not decide until September whether to deploy the House budget resolution as a shutdown-avoidance tool. “We will get a vote on a continuing resolution to fund the government in this work period,” he said. “It’s possible that that would be something that would get punted into September.”
The maneuver comes amid broader GOP tensions over spending and shutdown risk. Some Trump allies have pushed for attaching policy riders like the SAVE Act to funding bills, while anti-abortion activists have fumed over the exclusion of Planned Parenthood defunding from the latest reconciliation package. Thune’s approach signals a preference for pragmatism over confrontation as the fiscal year deadline approaches.
If the House passes a budget resolution, Senate Republicans will hold it as a fallback—ready to use reconciliation to fund the government and avoid another politically damaging shutdown.
