On the 41st day of the record-long government shutdown, the U.S. Senate approved a continuing resolution 60-40 to reopen much of the government. The stopgap measure would fund many agencies through Jan. 30 and provide funding for some departments through the end of next September.
The shutdown will not end until the House also approves the bill and the president signs it into law. Senate passage sets up that next step but does not immediately restore operations.
Seven Democrats and one independent joined nearly all Senate Republicans to clear the measure, while Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., cast the lone Republican no vote. The impasse that preceded the agreement led to missed paychecks for millions of federal workers, delayed food assistance and disruptions at airports.
Bipartisan negotiators reached the agreement after more than a month of on-again, off-again talks. A procedural vote late Sunday secured the 60 votes needed to move the package to Monday’s final roll call.
The funding package includes provisions to undo reductions in force imposed during the shutdown, protections against further layoffs through the end of January and backpay for affected federal employees. It also bundles three full-year appropriations bills, including one that would fully fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) through Sept. 30, 2026.
The deal does not extend Affordable Care Act premium subsidies that are set to expire later this year, a top Democratic priority. Most Senate Democrats had insisted on a clear path to preserve those credits before voting to reopen the government.
Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he would schedule a vote by mid-December on a Democratic bill to extend the expiring subsidies, and he reiterated that Republicans would only take up negotiations after the government was back open. Supporters of the Senate deal argued it guarantees an opportunity to vote on the subsidies, while other Democrats remained skeptical that Republicans would follow through without the leverage of an ongoing shutdown.
After Democratic wins in recent elections, some senators said it was a mistake to drop demands now. The top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, Sen. Patty Murray, urged continued pressure to force Republicans to negotiate changes to what she described as harmful health care increases.
The three full-year funding bills included in the package cover agriculture; military construction and veterans affairs; and the legislative branch. Those represent three of the 12 appropriations bills Congress must complete before the continuing resolution expires at the end of January.
House leaders informed members that they would receive 36 hours’ notice to return to Washington for a vote. The chamber has not conducted official business since passing its own version of a continuing resolution in mid-September; many rank-and-file members have been away even as House Speaker Mike Johnson has maintained a public presence at the Capitol.
Johnson told reporters he would call members back as quickly as possible and urged them to begin returning, citing ongoing travel disruptions tied to the shutdown. He expressed confidence the House can pass the Senate measure and said the president is prepared to sign it. The speaker, however, has not committed to holding an Affordable Care Act subsidy vote in the House if the Senate bill becomes law.
Moving the measure through the House could still prove difficult: a number of House Democrats have indicated they will not support the Senate deal, and some hard-line Republicans may also withhold their votes. The outcome now depends on whether House leaders can marshal sufficient support to send the measure to the president and officially end the shutdown.