Senate Takes Major Step Toward Ending Historic Shutdown

A bipartisan coalition of senators voted 60–40 late Sunday night to advance legislation that would reopen the federal government after forty days of closure—the longest shutdown in U.S. history. The procedural vote clears a path for the Senate to approve the funding package in full and send it to the House of Representatives, which must reconvene to finalize passage.

Eight Democrats—Dick Durbin of Illinois, Angus King of Maine, Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen of Nevada, Maggie Hassan and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, and Tim Kaine of Virginia—joined all 52 Republicans in backing the measure. The rare show of bipartisanship suggests growing pressure on both parties to resolve the impasse that has left federal agencies frozen and hundreds of thousands of workers furloughed.

Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota called the vote “a turning point,” expressing optimism that Congress was finally “on track to end this painful and unnecessary shutdown.” The funding bill would keep government agencies open through January 30 of next year and provide full-year appropriations for key departments, including Agriculture, Veterans Affairs, and military construction projects.

The deal also includes protections for federal workers who lost their jobs during the shutdown, guaranteeing back pay and reinstatement for those wrongfully terminated. Democrats secured an additional concession: a promised vote in December on extending pandemic-era premium tax credits under the Affordable Care Act, which are set to expire at the end of the year. Kaine, who helped negotiate the agreement, said the measure “will protect federal workers, ensure back pay, and give families a fair shot at keeping their health coverage.”

Yet not all Democrats are satisfied. Several progressive senators, including Elizabeth Warren and Mark Kelly, said they would oppose the package unless it included an immediate extension of the tax credits. Warren called supporting the bill “a mistake,” arguing that Americans are facing “a health-care emergency” while Congress delays meaningful relief. Others, like Michigan’s Elissa Slotkin, criticized what they saw as an empty promise of a future vote, saying it “does not meet the threshold” to lower costs for working families.

Republicans, meanwhile, have signaled strong resistance to the subsidy extension. Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said he would “not continue this windfall profit for insurance companies another day,” accusing Democrats of using the shutdown to push a partisan health-care agenda.

The path forward now depends on the House, where Speaker Mike Johnson has said his caucus remains divided over the subsidy issue and other spending provisions. Johnson has indicated he will not guarantee any outcome on health-care credits until after the government reopens, calling it a “complex issue that requires debate.”

The vote ends weeks of stalemate and signals a tentative step toward compromise, but the shutdown will not formally end until both chambers approve the final bill and the president signs it into law. For now, Washington appears to have reached an uneasy truce—one that hinges on whether lawmakers can set aside election-year posturing long enough to get the lights back on.

Sources:

• Associated Press – “Senate takes first step toward ending the government shutdown”
  https://apnews.com/article/641e7e2324f261da72395b604d9540e8

• Reuters – “U.S. Senate rejects bill to restore federal worker pay, remains at odds over shutdown”
  https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/us-senate-rejects-bill-restore-federal-worker-pay-remains-odds-over-shutdown-2025-11-08

• The Guardian – “Republicans reject Democrats’ proposal to end longest shutdown in U.S. history”
  https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/07/government-shutdown-vote-latest-senate

• CBS News – “Government shutdown latest: Senate advances deal, but funding lapse continues”
  https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/government-shutdown-latest-senate-weekend-session

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