 "The Republican-led Senate on Sunday held a swift procedural vote to advance the legislative measure, which appeared to have enough Democratic support to move forward. (Reuters)")
The Senate passed legislation on Monday night to end the nation’s longest government shutdown, following a 60–40 vote that marked a major breakthrough after 41 days of gridlock. The spending package was approved after a critical group of Democrats joined Republicans in supporting a bill that excluded the key concession their party had sought for weeks.
The shutdown had left over a million federal workers unpaid and caused widespread disruption, including the suspension of government services and increasing risks to food assistance for millions of Americans. Air travel had also been severely affected, with more than 1,000 flights cancelled daily in recent days.
“We’ll be opening up our country very quickly,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, adding, “The deal is very good."
Legislation heads to the House after Senate approval
Senate leaders have scheduled further votes, including on an amendment proposed by Senator Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin to extend health care premium subsidies for one year. The stopgap funding bill now moves to the House of Representatives, which is also controlled by Republicans. The chamber is expected to reconvene as early as Wednesday, with Tuesday being a national holiday.
Democratic Senator John Fetterman, who backed the bill, posted on X: “Feed everyone. Pay our military, government workers, and Capitol Police. End the chaos in airports. Country over party.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson expressed optimism about the progress, stating, “It appears to us this morning that our long national nightmare is finally coming to an end, and we’re grateful for that.” He added that some Democrats now seemed ready “to do what Republicans and President Trump and millions of hard-working American people have been asking them to do for weeks.”
The chamber is expected to reconvene as early as Wednesday, as Tuesday is a national holiday.