President Barack Obama signed a stopgap funding bill Wednesday that will avert a government shutdown for the time being, the White House said.

The House and Senate both passed the continuing resolution earlier in the day. It would keep the government funded through Dec. 11.

President Barack Obama signed the spending extension into law later on Wednesday, the White House said in a statement.

Obama welcomed the news with a tinge of sarcasm in remarks to a group of progressive state legislators in Washington.

"The good news is that it looks like the Republicans will just barely avoid shutting down the government for the second time in two years. That's a somewhat low bar but we should celebrate where we can," Obama said.

"The bad news is that it looks like Republicans will just barely avoid shutting down the government again for the second time in two years," he added.

The White House on Wednesday urged Congress to pass a budget that reverses sequestration spending cuts. It also criticized the use of last-minute legislation to fund the government for a short time.

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said Tuesday that he would try to avoid a shutdown and that he is open to working with Democrats to do so.

"We have a system in government that you're going to have to compromise. I'm not going to get 100 percent of what I want," said McCarthy, who on Monday announced his candidacy to succeed John Boehner as House speaker.

—CNBC's Eamon Javers and Matt Belvedere, and Reuters contributed to this report.

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