US Senate passes bill to end government shutdown, sends to House 

WASHINGTON, Nov 10 (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on Monday approved a compromise that would end the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, breaking a weeks-long stalemate that has disrupted food benefits for millions, left hundreds of thousands of federal workers unpaid and USA

The 60-40 vote passed with the support of nearly all of the chamber's Republicans and eight Democrats, who unsuccessfully sought to tie government funding to health subsidies that are due to expire at the end of the year. While the agreement sets up a December vote on those subsidies, which benefit 24 million Americans, it does not guarantee they will continue.The deal would restore funding for federal agencies that lawmakers allowed to expire on October 1 and would stall President Donald Trump's campaign to downsize the federal workforce, preventing any layoffs until January 30.

It next heads to the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, where Speaker Mike Johnson has said he would like to pass it as soon as Wednesday and send it on to Trump to sign into law. Trump has called the deal to reopen the government "very good."The deal would extend funding through January 30, leaving the federal government for now on a path to keep adding abouT to its $38 trillion in debt.Coming a week after Democrats won high-profile elections in New Jersey, Virginia and elected a democratic socialist as the next mayor of New York City, the deal has provoked anger among many Democrats who note there is no guarantee that the Republican-controlled Senate or House would agree to extend the health

"We wish we could do more," said Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois, the chamber's No. 2 Democrat. "The government shutting down seemed to be an opportunity to lead us to better policy. It didn't work."A late October Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 50% of Americans blamed Republicans for the shutdown, while 43% blamed Democrats.U.S.  buoyed by news of progress on a deal to reopen the government.

Trump has unilaterally cancelled billions of dollars in spending and trimmed federal payrolls by hundreds of thousands of workers, intruding on Congress's constitutional authority over fiscal matters. Those actions have violated past spending laws passed by Congress, and some Democrats have questioned why they would vote for any such spending deals going forward.The deal does not appear to include any specific guardrails to prevent Trump from enacting further spending cuts.However, the deal would fund the SNAP food-subsidy program through September 30 of next year, heading off any possible disruptions if Congress were to shut down the government again during that time.Reporting by Richard Cowan, Andy Sullivan and Nolan D. McCaskill; Additional reporting by Katharine Jackson, Jasper Ward, David Shepardson, Courtney Rozen and Trevor Hunnicutt; Writing by Andy Sullivan; Editing by Scott Malone and Lisa Shumaker

Nolan D. McCaskill reports on American politics, including the U.S. Congress. He previously covered Texas politics at The Dallas Morning News and national politics at Politico and the Los Angeles Times. He is a graduate of Florida A&M University and a member of the National Association of Black Journalists. Reach him at nolan.mccaskill@thomsonreuters.com.

The shutdown began on 1 October - with 670,000 federal government employees furloughed or left with no choice but to work without pay. More than 40 million Americans have also had to go without food aid.An end to the longest US government shutdown in history is one step closer after Senate Democrats broke with their party to strike a deal with the Republicans.Senators backed by 60 votes to 40 legislation to end the impasse, though it still needs approval from the House of Representatives - and sign-off by President Donald Trump. 

He has indicated he is happy with the agreement, though, which would restore funding for federal agencies that have gone without since 1 October.

It would also prevent any further layoffs until 30 January, but does not satisfy Democrat demands regarding health care insurance for millions of Americans.Health care was at the heart of the dispute that led to the shutdown.The Democrats had refused to support a Republican budget plan unless tax credits that made medical insurance cheaper for millions of people were renewed.The willingness of eight moderate Democrats to break the Senate deadlock without that guarantee has provoked fury among many in the party.

Some are now calling on Senate Minority Chuck Schumer to be replaced because he is "no longer effective".California Governor Gavin Newsom - regarded as a contender for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination - said: "Pathetic. This isn't a deal. It's surrender."On Monday morning, Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune had urged politicians to work together to break a stalemate that had lasted for more than 40 days.He said: "The American people have suffered for long enough. Let's not pointlessly drag this bill out."

The shutdown began on 1 October - with 670,000 federal government employees furloughed or left with no choice but to work without pay.SNAP, a food aid programme used by 42 million Americans, has been frozen - with thousands of flights cancelled at dozens of major airports.Mr Trump has told air traffic controllers to get back to work, threatening anyone who doesn't with "docked" pay.The funding package now heading to the House of Representatives only lasts through to 30 January, making it a relatively short-term solution that will require further negotiation.

The United States Senate has passed amended funding legislation that moves the country's government one step closer to ending its longest-ever shutdown.In an hours-long vote held at Capitol Hill in Washington DC on Sunday, local time, eight Democratic senators voted with Republicans to end debate on a proposed funding bill that would finance government work until January 30, 2026.Senators on Monday then took part in a series of additional votes on the bill itself, culminating in a final decision to formally approve it with a majority margin of 60-40 and send it to the House of Representatives.

While the Senate voted in favour of ending debate on the government's funding bill with a 60-40 margin on Sunday, another Senate vote was needed to formally approve it and send it back to the House of Representatives.That vote took place and was passed on Monday. The funding legislation now needs to clear the House via another vote of approval and also be signed by US President Donald Trump, before the government can reopen."We are going to reopen government," Republican senator Susan Collins told the chamber immediately after the vote was passed.

"I know that the strain of these weeks has been immense, that you all have families, rent to meet, bills to pay, car and mortgage payments," he said.

"I'm grateful for all you have done to keep the Senate running, and for all that you do every day, shut down or no shut down, to serve the Senate and to serve our country."

The next step for the amended bill will be in the House. Speaker Mike Johnson has already urged politicians to start returning to Washington DC "right now", given travel delays sparked by the shutdown.

He had also earlier flagged that he would give House members a period of 36 hours to return to Congress to take part in the next vote, meaning the next step in the funding bill's approval process may not happen until at least Wednesday, local time.It will only be after the House and presidential approval that federal workers will resume being paid and government work can completely resume.To proceed to the debate-ending Senate vote on Sunday, a group of Senate Democrats — Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan — along with independent senator Angus King, agreed to vote with Republicans.

They joined Democrat senators Tim Kaine, Dick Durbin, John Fetterman, Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen, who had all previously stated their intention to vote in favour.

The group was convinced into conceding support for the bill's passage after Republican senators agreed to hold a vote at a later date — believed to be in December — on expiring Affordable Care Act tax credits that have made private health insurance less costly for millions of Americans.It is unclear whether the Democrats and Republicans would be able to find any common ground on the subsidies before that vote.

Mr Johnson has already said he will not commit to bringing up an equivalent vote in the House.The subsidies are set to expire at the end of the year unless the US Congress decides otherwise, and could still end if the December vote does not come to a quick resolution.

If that happens, the average health insurance premium costs of millions of subsidised customers who purchased coverage through the Obamacare program could more than double.

That would significantly affect a small number of higher earners and a large number of lower earners who will have to pay more, according to Cynthia Cox from the healthcare research non-profit KFF.If more Americans are uninsured and are unable to afford out-of-pocket costs for emergency health care, some of their expenses will also fall on hospitals and the government to fund.If the enhanced tax credits expire, politicians could still find other pathways to help Americans afford health insurance, though reaching any deal will likely be difficult in a bitterly divided Congress.Separately, the deal would also fund the SNAP food-subsidy program until September 30 next year, averting any possible disruptions if Congress were to shut down the government again during that time.SNAP benefits are food stamps that help almost 42 million Americans each month to feed themselves, at a monthly cost of about $US8 billion ($12.25 billion) to the nation's economy.In the immediate aftermath of Sunday's Senate vote, signs of internal division became apparent from within the Democratic Party.

The deal cut by Senate Democrats to reopen the government has refuelled the party's tussle over strategy and identity, particularly between centrist and progressive members.Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer voted against the move to end debate on the funding bill and said he could not "in good faith" support it after meeting with his caucus for more than 2 hours.The decision by the eight senators to vote with Republicans was also criticised by independent senator Bernie Sanders — who caucuses with the Democrats — as a "horrific mistake".

In the House, multiple Democrats were quick to condemn their Senate colleagues.

Texas representative Greg Casar said a deal that did not reduce health care costs was a "betrayal" of millions of Americans who were counting on Democrats to fight.

Others gave Mr Schumer a nod of support. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, who criticised Mr Schumer in March after his vote to keep the government open, on Monday praised him and expressed support for his leadership throughout the shutdown."The American people know we are on the right side of this fight," Mr Jeffries said Monday.The Democratic senators who cut the deal with Republicans say they had little choice, given GOP members were not budging on the stalemate and the pressure of the prolonged shutdown had become untenable.

First Thing: Senate advances funding bill to end longest US government shutdown in history
Amended package must be passed by the house and signed by the president. Plus, Volodymyr Zelenskyy on why he’s not afraid of Donald Trumpant progress towards ending the longest US government shutdown in history, narrowly advancing a compromise bill to reauthorize funding and undo the layoffs of some employees.

But the measure, which came after days of talks between a handful of Democratic and Republican senators, leaves out the healthcare subsidies that Democrats had demanded for weeks.

The bill received exactly the 60 votes needed to advance in the Senate, with almost all Republicans voting in favor on Sunday, along with eight Democrats, many of whom were moderates or serving their final terms.

What did the Democrats say about the bill? “This healthcare crisis is so severe, so urgent, so devastating for families back home, that I cannot in good faith support this [resolution] that fails to address the healthcare crisis,” said Chuck Schumer, the Democratic majority leader

Posted on 2025/11/11 11:49 AM