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The Senate voted Monday night to approve a bipartisan government funding package that could end the longest shutdown in U.S. history, breaking a 41-day impasse that had stalled federal operations and disrupted air travel across the country.
The measure passed 60–40 after weeks of tense negotiations and a final weekend push led by a bipartisan group of rank-and-file senators and Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.). The legislation now moves to the House, where Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said members could vote as soon as Wednesday. President Donald Trump is expected to sign the bill once it reaches his desk.
What’s in the deal
The package includes a three-bill “minibus” that would fully fund the Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration, the Department of Veterans Affairs and military construction, and congressional operations for the rest of the fiscal year. All other federal agencies would be funded through Jan. 30 under a stopgap measure.
It also guarantees that furloughed federal employees will be rehired with back pay and requires agencies to notify Congress once layoff notices are rescinded. The measure prohibits any new reductions in force across federal departments through the end of the continuing resolution.
In a concession to Democrats, the agreement also guarantees a vote by mid-December on legislation to extend enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies set to expire at year’s end.
How the deal came together
Negotiations were spearheaded by Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire and Angus King of Maine, who urged colleagues to back the compromise as the best possible outcome after Republicans refused to tie shutdown-ending legislation to an ACA subsidy extension.
Eight members of the Senate Democratic Caucus joined Republicans in supporting final passage, the same group that advanced the package a day earlier.
“This agreement will get government employees back to work, reopen essential services and restore stability,” Thune said before the vote. “Every member, Democrat or Republican, should want to deliver relief quickly.”
Democratic dissent and leadership frustration
Democratic leaders and progressives denounced the deal, arguing that Republicans had given up nothing on health care while forcing federal workers and families to bear the brunt of the shutdown.
“Republicans have refused to move an inch, so I cannot support the Republican bill that’s on the floor because it fails to do anything of substance to fix America’s health care crisis,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said on the floor Monday. He added that the 41-day shutdown had “exposed the depths of Donald Trump’s cruelty.”
Several progressive Democrats and outside advocacy groups called for Schumer to step down from leadership, despite his opposition to the bill.
Shutdown impact and final votes
The shutdown, which began in late August, caused widespread disruption — grounding flights, delaying food aid programs and triggering lawsuits over emergency funding disbursements.
While Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul opposed the overall bill, he agreed not to delay the final vote after Republican leaders allowed a floor vote on his amendment to remove language restricting intoxicating hemp products. His amendment was defeated 76–24.
The Senate’s action puts the end of the funding lapse within reach by week’s end, with Trump expected to personally lobby House Republicans to move the package swiftly. A handful of moderate House Democrats have also signaled willingness to support the deal, despite objections from their party’s leaders.
