Congress passed a temporary measure last month to fund the government, avoiding a government shutdown just weeks before the election.

But a lame duck Congress will have to sort out a funding plan again to avoid a shutdown when funding is set to run out on Dec. 20.

The Associated Press reported last month that Congress passed a “temporary measure” to fund the government into December, pushing the funding question until after the election. The bill generally funds agencies at current levels through Dec. 20. Additional dollars were added to bolster the Secret Service after the two assassination attempts against Donald Trump as well as funding for the upcoming presidential transition.

Per the AP, the bill required House Leadership leaning on Democratic votes. Republicans in both chambers were all of the no votes.

Congressman Glenn Thompson (R-15) voted to fund the government to that December date and in an interview with the Times Observer said he’s opposed to government shutdowns generally.

“A shutdown never makes sense,” he said. “This continuing resolution, I was disappointed it only went until Dec. 20. I was all-in on going to six months.”

He explained that a six month funding CR “only makes sense. (We’re) going to have a new administration.” That will bring staffing changes and Thompson said the “effectiveness” of the administration would be compromised “without personnel in certain places.

“Six months made sense to me,” he said. “You have to negotiate these things with the Senate. We have extremists on both sides of the aisle certainly in the House” which also requires the parties in Congress to negotiate with themselves.

He advocated for “something more long term, which will be good for the incoming administration.”

That will require Congress – a rather dysfunctional body at the moment – to function.

Thompson, who chairs the House Ag Committee, outlined how that rancor could potentially be overcome.

“I think the Farm Bill is a great model of functioning properly,” he said. “I wanted to develop ownership with all my members” and welcome people and ideas to the table. “I don’t ask anyone to compromise principles or values.”

He acknowledged that the fringes in Congress can scuttle that type of atmosphere.

Those members “only talk to themselves. They love their own image,” Thompson said. “(They’re) driven by not what they can accomplish” but how many likes and followers they can get and how many interviews they can do.

“It’s not a huge number of people,” he said, “but it only takes a couple to really sow” division.