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The Senate on Sunday made significant progress towards ending the longest US government shutdown in history, narrowly advancing a compromise bill to reauthorize funding and undo the layoffs of some employees.
But the measure, which resulted from days of talks between a handful of Democratic and Republican senators, leaves out the healthcare subsidies that Democrats had demanded for weeks. That appears set to cause turmoil for the legislation in the House of Representatives, where the top Democrat and several of his lawmakers have announced their opposition.
On a procedural vote in the Senate held hours after the compromise emerged, the bill cleared the 60-vote threshold for advancement.
“After 40 long days, I’m hopeful we can bring this shutdown to the end,” said John Thune, the Republican Senate majority leader.
“From the precarious situation we’re in with air travel to the fact that our staff have been working without pay for a full 40 days now, all of us, Republicans and Democrats who support this bill know that the time to act is now.”
The legislation authorizes government funding through 30 January 2026 and undoes the firings of federal workers that the White House authorized after the shutdown began on 1 October. It also guarantees retroactive pay for furloughed federal workers and those who stayed on the job during the shutdown, and prevents further layoffs through January. It will also authorize long-term spending for some federal departments.
But it does not include an extension of tax credits for Affordable Care Act health plans, which were created under Joe Biden and expire at the end of the year, sending premiums sharply higher for enrollees in the plans. Democrats have refused to vote to reopen the government until the GOP agrees to reauthorize the subsidies, but Republicans have refused.
However, Thune has told Democrats that he will hold a vote on continuing the subsidies after government funding is restored. It is unclear if the measure will have the support necessary to pass.
Once passed by the Senate, the bill will need to be approved by the House and signed by Donald Trump, which may take days.
A split over the compromise appeared to emerge between House and Senate Democrats. Several House Democrats announced their opposition, along with Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic House minority leader who has supported the party’s stand on funding.
“America is far too expensive. We will not support spending legislation advanced by Senate Republicans that fails to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits,” he said in a statement. “We will fight the GOP bill in the House of Representatives, where Mike Johnson will be compelled to end the seven-week Republican taxpayer-funded vacation.”
Johnson, the chamber’s Republican speaker, has kept it in recess since mid-September in a bid to pressure Democrats into accepting a funding bill they had approved.
