WASHINGTON (AP) — The House moved Tuesday to head-off a potential government shutdown before this fall's critical midterm elections by passing a bill to fund the federal government through Dec. 4.
The deadline for action is more than two months away, but House GOP leaders are not leaving to chance another possible shutdown souring the mood of voters shortly before they go to the polls. House Speaker Mike Johnson dared Democrats to vote against the bill, and if they did, "then they alone are going to own the chaos that ensues if the government shuts down after September 30.”
The House passed the measure by a mostly party-line vote of 220-205.
It’s highly unusual for Congress to pass a stopgap funding bill months before the end of the fiscal year. Lawmakers normally act just days or even hours before the deadline. But once lawmakers leave town this week, the House is scheduled to be in session for only 16 more days before the funding deadline.
GOP leadership is laying the groundwork to spend most of that time on another priority: a long-shot, party-line bill that spends $95 billion to boost defense, aid farmers and get portions of President Donald Trump’s elections overhaul bill passed into law.
“I think it's kind of smart to go ahead and take the potential chaos of a shutdown off the table because the amount of damage that does to the American citizens,” said Rep. Austin Scott, R-Ga. He said he believed a shutdown “probably works to the advantage of Democrats politically,” and he blamed the press for such a scenario.
Democrats overwhelmingly opposed the stopgap measure, which would generally fund agencies at current spending levels.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, said the legislation was dropped on Democrats on Friday without any bipartisan negotiations. She said that, among other priorities, Democrats would have pushed for provisions to reverse a proposed federal rule that could allow agency heads to block or terminate grants they claim don't match the president's priorities.
She said that instead of a bipartisan agreement, “we are scrambling to jam through a one-sided stopgap measure two days before everyone leaves for the August recess.”
Republicans said work on the dozen annual spending bills would continue in the months ahead, but that funding the government through Dec. 4 could help lawmakers avoid a repeat of the past year when the country experienced the longest federal shutdown in history followed by the longest partial shutdown in history.
“We've seen that happen twice in this Congress already,” said Rep. Tom Cole, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. “I'm not willing to risk a third time if we can avoid that.”
Some of the more conservative Republican lawmakers were fine with the bill to extend funding to Dec. 4, known as a continuing resolution.
In this environment, that's "the best way to spend the least amount of money,” said Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo. “You keep spending levels static for at least a period of time.”
It's unclear if the Senate will go along with the bill. Spending bills require support from 60 senators to advance to a final vote, so some Democrats would need to support it. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters that Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins was working with Democrats on the committee to “find a path forward.”
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., and GOP leaders meet with reporters as he tries to advance a spending package for the Iran war, farm aid and President Donald Trump's push for strict new voter ID requirements, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, July 21, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
RALEIGH, North Carolina (AP) — The U.S. military has confirmed that a third service member is believed to be dead in Friday’s attack on a base in Jordan and identified them as Sgt. Angel S. Rampersad, 28, of New York.
The confirmation brings the death toll to 18 U.S. service members killed since the war began.
On Monday, the Pentagon identified 1st Lt. Tyler James Feehan, 25, of Ewa Beach, Hawaii, and Pvt. Isabella Gonzales, 19, of Carrollton, Texas, as the two other soldiers who were killed in Jordan in Friday’s attacks. The soldiers were killed by Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks in the first troop deaths from direct Iranian fire since the opening days of the war. They were deployed to support a U.S. mission against the Islamic State group, a U.S. Central Command statement said.
After the attack, U.S. Central Command announced that two servicemembers were killed and another was missing. The following day, the military command said that troops found unidentified remains and that an examination process to verify the remains was underway.
Now, the Pentagon says that Rampersad is believed to be that missing soldier and her official status is now “Duty Status–Whereabouts Unknown” and she is “believed to be deceased.”
Rampersad belonged to the same unit as Gonzales — the 10th Army Air & Missile Defense Command based in Ansbach, Germany.
Also, a U.S. soldier killed in Iraq during a controlled detonation of an Iranian drone was identified as Sgt. Michael Emmanuel Swinton, a 30-year-old father from North Carolina who had served for nearly a decade, according to a military statement Tuesday and his family.
Swinton will receive a Bronze Star, Purple Heart and Combat Action Badge, and will be promoted to staff sergeant. The Army said it was investigating the circumstances of his death Sunday at an air base in Irbil.
He leaves behind a 6-year-old son and a 4-year-old daughter, his mother said.
“I will never recover from this,” his wife, Mia Gonzalez-Swinton, posted Monday on Facebook. “We had so many plans for when you got back, I’m sick to my stomach.” She said she was notified Sunday that he had been killed.
Two U.S. Army soldiers were also killed in Jordan last week while defending against Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks. They were the first U.S. troop deaths from direct Iranian fire since the opening days of the war.
His wife and kids were the center of his world, his mother, Christel Swinton Andujar, told The Associated Press.
“His legacy will live on through the countless lives he touched, the laughter he shared, the strength he gave others, and the unconditional love he poured into his family,” she said via text message. “He will forever be missed, forever honored, and forever our hero.”
Swinton enlisted in the Army in 2017 and was assigned to the 55th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 108th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
He lived in Spring Lake, a popular off-base location for Fort Bragg families, according to public records. The military gave his hometown as Fayetteville, another nearby community.
“Sgt. Swinton was an experienced noncommissioned officer who took great pride in his work and the people around him,” said Brig. Gen. John L. Dawber, commanding general of the Army Air and Missile Defense Command. “He answered the call to duty with courage, honor, and selfless dedication.”
Renewed fighting between the U.S. and Iran is now in its 10th day, with both sides launching barrages of strikes. Iran has attacked U.S. allies in the region, and American soldiers are stationed across the Middle East.
Iranian authorities say U.S. strikes in just the past three weeks have killed at least 50 people and wounded more than 500 others.
Both sides have targeted civilian infrastructure relied on by millions of people. Workers on ships, as well as foreign workers and others in Gulf nations, Israel and Lebanon have also died in the conflict.
The U.S. State Department said in a new warning to Americans that “Iran and groups supportive of Iran may target other U.S. interests overseas or at locations associated with the United States and Americans throughout the world.”
U.S. President Donald Trump has said the war is necessary to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Trump, a Republican, now faces political pressure to bring the war to a close and avoid the kind of prolonged Middle East conflict he had campaigned against. The escalation has pushed oil prices higher in recent weeks.
This story was corrected to show Sgt. Michael Emmanuel Swinton died Sunday, not Saturday, as earlier reported by the military.
Collins reported from Hartford, Connecticut.
This undated image provided by the U.S. Army shows Pvt. Isabella Gonzales, 19, of Carrollton, Texas. (U.S. Army via AP)
This undated photo provided by the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command shows 1st Lt. Tyler James Feehan. (U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command via AP)
This undated photo provided by the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command on Tuesday, July 21, 2026, shows Army Sgt. Michael Emmanuel Swinton. (U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command via AP)
American flags fly above the Lincoln Memorial, Thursday, July 9, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
