The Senate has passed a bipartisan funding package to end the government shutdown after a 41-day stalemate. The resolution came as a group of eight Senate Democratic senators broke from their party and joined Republicans in their bid to reopen the government. These eight Democrats, who had previously demanded compromises, provided the crucial votes needed to send the package to the House.
Speaker Mike Johnson has announced plans for a House vote by Wednesday to conclude the shutdown. The agreement includes a continuing resolution (CR) combined with spending bills to keep the government running until January 30, 2026. This deal was reached after several procedural hurdles and negotiations, with both sides recognizing the need to address the ongoing government shutdown.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., had demanded that any deal to reopen the government include an ironclad deal on expiring Obamacare subsidies. However, that deal, or at least the one that Democrats wanted, never materialized. Instead, eight Senate Democrats took the offer that Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., had made since the beginning: a guarantee to vote on legislation that would deal with the subsidies.
Thune reiterated his promise and noted that a vote would come,