The Senate voted early Shabbos morning to approve a temporary government funding measure that would keep federal agencies operating through Dec. 11, moving to avoid another government shutdown just months before the midterm elections. The legislation now heads to the House for consideration before lawmakers begin a five-week recess.

The continuing resolution cleared the Senate by a commanding 90-6 vote after several days of internal Republican negotiations over a White House-backed provision delaying enforcement of a ban on hemp-derived THC products until December.

Sen. Darline Graham (R-S.C.) voted “present” because the legislation contained a death benefit for the heir of her late brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.).

Voting against the measure were Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).

The spending package also contains a provision sought by Democrats and several Republicans on the Senate Appropriations Committee—including Chairwoman Susan Collins (R-Maine)—that temporarily blocks a White House Office of Management and Budget rule expanding the authority of political appointees over the distribution of federal grant funding.

According to senators involved in the bipartisan negotiations, Democrats insisted that any short-term funding bill approved before September had to include language freezing the White House budget office’s proposed rule.

Collins sharply criticized the proposal, describing it as “deeply flawed.”

Last month, she formally urged Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought to withdraw the rule in a letter sent to his office.

The Senate did not reach final passage until early Shabbos morning after Republicans spent hours negotiating a package of floor votes that included government funding, the confirmation of Attorney General Todd Blanche, and legislation requiring voters to present photo identification in federal elections.

Progress on the continuing resolution was also delayed throughout Thursday and Friday because senators disagreed over how to handle separate bipartisan legislation authored by Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) establishing new rules governing the recruitment and compensation of college athletes.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) announced the funding vote only after Cruz agreed to postpone consideration of the Protect College Sports Act until September.

The legislation now moves to the House of Representatives, which is scheduled to reconvene on Aug. 31.

Without congressional action, federal funding would expire on Sept. 30.

Some House Republicans are expected to object to the provision suspending the White House budget office’s grant rule, arguing it weakens executive branch authority over federally appropriated funds.

Fiscal conservatives in the House may also oppose extending government funding without accompanying spending reductions aimed at lowering the federal deficit.

Even so, the overwhelming bipartisan Senate vote makes eventual House approval appear highly likely.

Congress traditionally waits until shortly before funding expires to pass temporary spending bills. This year, however, lawmakers in both parties sought to resolve the issue well ahead of the Sept. 30 deadline to avoid a politically damaging shutdown so close to the midterm elections.

Many senators also wanted to avoid repeating the lengthy budget battles that have plagued Congress in recent months, including the record 43-day government shutdown during October and November.

That shutdown was followed by another bitter funding dispute involving Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the U.S. Border Patrol, which ultimately forced the Department of Homeland Security to temporarily shut down earlier this year.

“I think it’s the most important thing for us to do,” said Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.V.). “Because I don’t think we need to have the harbinger of a possible government shutdown. So, take it off the table. I think we all want to do that.”

For months, some Republicans argued Democrats might allow a government shutdown shortly before Election Day in order to politically damage the GOP.

“I think my Democratic friends are going to shut down the government right before the midterms,” Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) warned in the spring.

Keeping the federal government funded beyond Election Day became one of Thune’s principal legislative goals before the Senate departed for its August recess.

He warned that if Democrats blocked the continuing resolution under normal Senate procedures, he would instead seek to fund the government through the budget reconciliation process, which would bypass the filibuster.

Ultimately, Democrats also concluded that avoiding another shutdown served their interests.

“For months, Democrats have been clear: we want to fund the government, avoid a shutdown, and pass strong, bipartisan appropriations bills that improve people’s lives,” Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in a statement.

One of the biggest sticking points in the negotiations involved language inserted into the bill at the White House’s request postponing implementation of a federal ban on hemp-derived intoxicants such as delta-8 THC, products commonly sold in convenience stores and gas stations without approval from the Food and Drug Administration.

Several Republican senators said they were caught by surprise when the provision was added late in the legislative process, and some openly criticized White House legislative officials during a tense Republican lunch meeting earlier in the week.

Other Republicans, however, backed delaying the ban in support of hemp producers in their states, including Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky as well as Montana Sens. Steve Daines and Tim Sheehy.

A group of Republicans led by Sen. Ted Budd (R-N.C.) sought to remove the provision from the legislation, but the Senate voted 61-32 to table Budd’s amendment.

Before that vote, Budd argued that Congress had already acted last year to prohibit the sale of unregulated intoxicating hemp products.

“These products are made to look exactly like something a kid would want. Emergency Departments have seen a 461-percent increase in cases of pediatric cannabis poisoning. Most of those were children four years old or younger,” he said.

Sheehy defended hemp-derived products in a video posted to social media, arguing they have helped many Americans manage chronic pain.

“That’s been life-changing for a lot of people. A lot of them I know personally, which is why I’ve taken up this cause,” he said.