Washington, November 12: The U.S. Senate on Monday approved a bipartisan deal to end the longest government shutdown in American history, breaking a weeks-long stalemate that had disrupted food aid, left hundreds of thousands of federal workers unpaid, and snarled air travel across the country.
The measure passed by a 60–40 vote, with nearly all Republicans and eight Democrats supporting the compromise. It now heads to the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, where Speaker Mike Johnson said he hopes to pass it as early as Wednesday and send it to President Donald Trump for his signature. Trump called the deal to reopen the government “very good.”
The agreement restores funding for federal agencies that have been shuttered since October 1 and extends government operations through January 30. It also halts any layoffs in the federal workforce until that date, effectively pausing President Trump’s efforts to downsize the federal government.
The deal funds the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) through September 30 next year, averting disruptions in food benefits if another shutdown occurs. It also sets up a December vote on expiring health insurance subsidies that cover 24 million Americans, though the compromise does not guarantee their extension.
Coming after Democrats’ election victories in New Jersey, Virginia, and New York City, the agreement has angered some in the party who had sought to leverage the shutdown to secure continued health subsidies. “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.
Financial markets reacted positively to signs of progress in Washington, with U.S. stocks rising on Monday.
The deal leaves the government on track to add roughly $1.8 trillion a year to its $38 trillion national debt. It does not include specific restrictions to prevent Trump from enacting further unilateral spending cuts, a point of contention for Democrats who say the president’s earlier cancellations of billions in spending and federal payroll reductions overstepped Congress’s fiscal authority.
If approved by the House and signed into law, the measure would reopen the government immediately, bringing temporary relief to federal workers and millions of Americans affected by the shutdown.
