What is the specific end date in the 2025 continuing resolution?

1. Conflicting headlines: Why reporters give different dates and what each claim actually says

News outlets and briefings produce different end dates because they are describing different documents, proposals, and negotiation positions, not a single unanimous law. Some reporting lists the short-term CR deadline that currently governs funding and will trigger another vote or lapse — which recent coverage places at Nov. 21, 2025 — while other pieces summarize proposals from lawmakers suggesting later cutoff dates such as Dec. 12, Dec. 19, mid‑January, or even into March 2026 ^{[1] [4] [3]}. Simultaneously, earlier enacted text or full‑year appropriations from prior months reference dates tied to FY2025 or prior CRs (for example, March 14, 2025, or Sept. 30, 2025), and those older dates appear in background summaries, adding to the apparent contradiction when readers encounter them without context ^{[5] [6]}. The net effect is a mélange of legally distinct dates being reported in parallel: immediate CR expiration, proposed extension cutoffs, and historical statutory dates.

2. The strongest, most recent reporting points to Nov. 21, 2025 as the near-term deadline

Contemporary coverage of the shutdown and negotiations repeatedly identifies November 21, 2025 as the CR’s short‑term end date that market actors, agencies, and negotiators must plan around. Federal News Network explicitly states the CR funding is set to expire on that date, framing it as the immediate operational deadline for Congress ^[3]. Multiple other contemporaneous summaries and session reports note that negotiators are racing toward votes and floor activity keyed to that calendar marker, and that a Senate Saturday session aimed to address the funding gap was occurring in the shadow of that looming Nov. 21 deadline ^{[2] [1]}. Given that the practical consequences of a CR lapse are felt day‑to‑day, the Nov. 21 date is the operative near‑term deadline reported by the most recent news stories.

3. Other dates in circulation describe alternative proposals or prior statutory CRs — don’t conflate them

Statements from House and Senate Republicans and conservative leaders discussing Dec. 12, Dec. 19, mid‑January, and March 2026 reflect negotiation positions or desired long‑term timetables rather than an enacted, single CR end date ^{[1] [4]}. Separately, legislative texts enacted earlier in 2025 or prior CR packages listed dates such as March 14, 2025, or Sept. 30, 2025, which are linked to prior fiscal‑year transitions or full‑year appropriations and are not the same as the current temporary CR expiration discussed in November coverage ^{[5] [6]}. When reporting or analyses cite those older statutory dates, they function as background on how the appropriations calendar normally operates; they do not override the current, short‑term expiration that negotiating parties and agencies must address now.

4. Political fault lines explain why multiple end dates are floated and why messaging amplifies certain dates

Republican internal divisions and strategic positioning explain the proliferation of proposed dates: some Republican leaders and conservatives favor a longer CR stretching into January to push policy fights into the next calendar year, while other Republicans and procedural strategists prefer a shorter deadline to force immediate concessions or to time votes advantageously, and Democrats propose different offsets to advance their priorities ^[1]. These competing positions produce public statements tied to different expiration targets — and news outlets capture those competing talking points. Because each faction benefits politically from emphasizing a particular schedule, reported dates often align with political strategy rather than a single enacted deadline, which increases public confusion about which date actually governs funding if negotiations fail to change current law.

5. What the evidence implies for practical planning and the clear answer to the original question

For agencies, employees, and the public, the practical, legally relevant near‑term date is the one named in the current continuing resolution that is still in effect; as of the most recent coverage, that date is November 21, 2025, and it is the immediate trigger that would require new congressional action to avoid further lapses ^{[3] [2]}. However, because negotiations remain fluid and some lawmakers publicly advocate later expiration dates ranging from December to March, no single longer‑term expiration is settled until Congress passes a new CR or appropriations bill reflecting a different cutoff ^{[1] [4]}. In short: Nov. 21, 2025 is the operative near‑term end date in recent reporting, while alternate dates represent active proposals or historical statutes that are not currently enacted as a new unanimous deadline ^{[3] [1] [5]}.