Senate Approves Bill to End 41-Day Government Shutdown After Bipartisan Deal

The U.S. Senate approved legislation to reopen the federal government, bringing an end to the longest shutdown in the nation’s history, after a small group of moderate Democrats joined Republicans to pass the bill despite sharp criticism from within their own party.

According to the Associated Press, the 41-day shutdown may last a few more days until House members, who have been in recess since mid-September, return to Washington to vote on the legislation before sending it to President Donald Trump for his signature.

Trump expressed his support for the measure, saying: “We will reopen our country very quickly.”

The final Senate vote, 60–40, broke a six-week deadlock as Democrats demanded that Republicans negotiate to extend health care tax credits set to expire on January 1.

Republicans refused to do so, but in the end, five moderate Democrats shifted their votes amid growing public frustration — including delayed federal aid, airport disruptions, and hundreds of thousands of federal employees going unpaid.

House Speaker Mike Johnson urged lawmakers to return to Washington “immediately” given travel delays caused by the shutdown. However, a notice issued after the Senate vote said the earliest the House could vote would be Wednesday afternoon.

Johnson, who has kept the House in recess since mid-September, said: “It seems our long national nightmare is finally coming to an end.”

How the Deadlock Ended

After weeks of negotiations, a group of three Democrats — Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, and Sen. Angus King, an independent from Maine — agreed to support a bipartisan deal that includes three joint spending bills and extends the remaining government funding through late January.

Republicans promised to hold a vote on extending health care support by mid-December, though without guarantees of success.
Shaheen said Monday that “this was the only option left on the table” after Republicans refused to back down.

“We reached a point where many of us believed the shutdown had effectively raised national awareness about health care,” she added, noting that the promised future vote “gives us an opportunity to continue addressing the issue.”

The legislation also cancels federal employee layoffs that the Trump administration had implemented since the shutdown began on October 1. It protects federal workers from further layoffs through January and ensures they receive back pay once the shutdown ends.

In addition to Shaheen, King, and Hassan, Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia — home to tens of thousands of federal workers — voted for the deal. So did Sen. Dick Durbin (Illinois), Sen. John Fetterman (Pennsylvania), and Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen (Nevada).

All other Democrats, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, voted against it.

Moderates had expected more Democrats to join them, with up to a dozen participating in negotiations. In the end, only five crossed over — exactly the number Republicans needed.

Democratic Backlash

Many Democrats condemned the vote as a “mistake.”
Schumer said after a two-hour caucus meeting that he could not “in good conscience” support the deal, adding: “We will not stop fighting.”
He emphasized that Democrats had “sounded the alarm” over health care funding.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I–Vermont) called the compromise a “serious mistake.”
Sen. Chris Murphy (D–Connecticut) argued that voters who overwhelmingly supported Democrats last week “want us to stand firm.”

Progressives in the House also criticized the Senate’s move.
Rep. Greg Casar (D–Texas), chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said any deal that doesn’t lower health care costs is a “betrayal” of millions of Americans who rely on Democrats to fight for them.

Others rallied behind Schumer.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who had criticized Schumer earlier this year for keeping the government open, praised his leadership during the shutdown, saying:
“The American people know we’re on the right side of this fight.”

Health Care Debate Continues

It remains unclear whether both parties will reach a deal on extending health care assistance before the scheduled December Senate vote.

Speaker Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, said his caucus has always been “open to reforming the Affordable Care Act,” but he did not commit to holding a vote on subsidies.

Some Republicans signaled willingness to extend COVID-era tax credits to prevent sharp premium increases, but they also demanded stricter eligibility rules.
Others argued that taxpayer funds for health plans should go directly to individuals rather than insurers.

Sen. Susan Collins, chair of the Appropriations Committee, said Monday she supports extending the credits with adjustments such as new income caps — an idea some Democrats appeared open to.
“We need to act by year’s end,” she said, “and that’s exactly what the Majority Leader has promised.”

Meanwhile, other Republicans, including Trump, used the debate to renew long-standing calls to repeal or overhaul the Affordable Care Act.

In a preview of upcoming battles, the Senate voted 47–53 along party lines against a one-year extension of the subsidies, as part of an agreement to speed up the process and send the bill to the House for final passage.