On the 41st day of a record-long government shutdown, the U.S. Senate voted 60 to 40 to approve a continuing resolution to reopen the government. The measure would fund much of the government through Jan. 30 and provide funding for some agencies through the end of next September.
But the shutdown will not end right away. The U.S. House of Representatives must also pass the legislation, which is not guaranteed, before President Donald Trump can sign it into law.
Seven Democrats and one independent senator voted with nearly every Senate Republican to approve the stopgap funding bill after a more than monthlong impasse that resulted in missed paychecks for millions of federal workers, delayed food assistance benefits and air travel disruptions.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., was the sole GOP no vote.
Over the weekend, a bipartisan group of senators reached an agreement to end the shutdown after holding a series of on-again, off-again talks over the last several weeks. A procedural vote to advance a funding bill achieved the required 60 votes late Sunday night, setting up Monday's vote.
The funding package includes language to reverse reductions in force of federal employees by the Trump Administration during the shutdown, protections against further layoffs through the end of January, backpay for federal employees and a trio of appropriations bills, including one that will fully fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, through Sept. 30, 2026.
A deal without Democrats' health care demands
But the deal does not include an extension of subsidies for Affordable Care Act health insurance premiums that are set to expire later this year. Most Democrats have refused to vote for a funding measure that did not include a concrete path to preserve the subsidies.
Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said Sunday that he would hold a vote by mid-December on a bill of Democrats' choosing to extend the expiring subsidies. Thune has said throughout the shutdown that Republicans would only negotiate on the subsidies once the government was open.
"This deal guarantees a vote to extend Affordable Care Act premium tax credits, which Republicans weren't willing to do," Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., wrote in a statement. "Lawmakers know their constituents expect them to vote for it, and if they don't, they could very well be replaced at the ballot box by someone who will."
But the majority of Senate Democrats disagreed that this was the best deal they could get, doubting that Republicans would agree to extend the subsidies without the pressure of an ongoing shutdown. After Democratic victories on Election Night last week, some senators said it was a mistake to back down.
"As long as there is still any time left to reverse the MAGA health care hike, I believe we must do everything we can to force Republicans to the negotiating table," wrote Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee that negotiated the three full-year funding bills.
The full-year funding measures include money for agriculture, military construction and veterans affairs and the legislative branch. Those are just three of the 12 appropriations bills Congress needs to pass before the continuing resolution would run out again at the end of January.
On to the House
House leadership alerted members Monday morning that they would have 36-hours notice to return to Capitol Hill for a vote. The House has not conducted official business since the chamber passed its version of a continuing resolution in mid-September. While Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson has held near-daily press conferences at the Capitol, many rank-and-file have not been in for weeks.
"At the very moment that they do that final vote, I will call all House members to return as quickly as possible," Johnson told reporters Monday and, noting the ongoing shutdown-related air travel delays, told members, "You need to begin right now returning to the Hill."
Moving the measure through the House could require some arm-twisting. Many Democrats have indicated they will not support the deal, and some hard-line Republicans may not be inclined to vote for it either.
But Johnson projected confidence Monday that the measure can pass and said Trump is ready to sign it. The speaker, though, has so far declined to promise an ACA vote in the House should a bill pass the Senate.
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