With the end of the current fiscal year coming at the end of the month, there was once again growing concern that Congress would be unable to pass a funding bill and avoid a partial government shutdown that would inevitably be blamed on Republicans by their counterpart Democrats and the media.

Rather unexpectedly, however, both the House and Senate managed to pass a short-term stopgap measure that, if signed by President Joe Biden, will keep the government funded through mid-December, Just the News reported.

And, while the bill may not have included everything that conservatives and former President Donald Trump wanted, it can still be celebrated as a win as it shows that Republicans can manage the government when they're in charge and dodges the political nightmare of a shutdown blamed on the GOP in the final month before November's elections.

House and Senate pass three-month funding bill

Wednesday evening, the Democrat-controlled Senate voted 78-18 to pass a short-term continuing resolution that will likely avoid a government shutdown at the end of the month and keep the federal government funded through December 20.

Earlier in the day, the funding measure was passed in the Republican-controlled House by a vote of 341-82.

The bill, a continuing resolution known as H.R. 9747, extends federal funding for the first three months of Fiscal Year 2025 but, with a few exceptions, maintains funding for most of the government at FY2024 levels.

One of those exceptions is an additional $231 million in funds for the U.S. Secret Service to help that agency keep its designated protectees safe from harm throughout the 2024 election season. A few other unspecified programs also received "funding flexibility and additional appropriations."

The measure also extends several various programs and authorities that were set to expire at the end of the month.

Shutdown crisis averted -- for now

The passage of the three-month funding bill in the House was something of a miracle, according to The Hill, as there were broad expectations that an agreement was out of reach and a partial government shutdown at the end of the month was set to occur.

Those expectations derived from an initial push by Republicans to pass a six-month funding bill that included an election integrity measure that would require would-be voters to provide proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote.

Amid staunch opposition from Democrats and facing the threat of a shutdown that inevitably would have been blamed on Republicans -- and used by Democrats and the media to argue that the GOP is incapable of governing when they hold majority control -- the measure was modified and the crisis was averted ... at least for now.

Speaker Johnson promises no more omnibus spending bills

The partisan funding fight will resume in December during the lame-duck period before the holidays, per The Hill, albeit after voters have had their say about which party should be in charge of the House, Senate, and White House for the next two to four years, and might not feature another massive omnibus spending bill, according to Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA).

"I want to assure everyone, and I’ve said this multiple times this week: We are not going to return a Christmas omnibus spending tradition, and that’s a commitment I’ve made to everyone," Johnson told reporters on Wednesday.

When pressed on if he'd refuse to even bring an omnibus bill to the floor for a vote, the Republican Speaker, who hopes to remain in that leadership position if the GOP retains control of the House, reiterated, "I’ve said very clear, we’re not going to return to the omnibus tradition. We’ll see what happens in December."