US Senate passes stopgap funding bill to end 41-day shutdown

On the 41st day of the longest government shutdown in US history, the Senate voted 60–40 to approve a continuing resolution aimed at reopening the government, American media reports.

The measure would fund most federal operations through January 30 and extend financing for certain agencies until the end of next September.

However, the shutdown is not yet over, as the House of Representatives must still pass the legislation before it can go to President Donald Trump for his signature.

The bill passed after more than a month of deadlock that had caused widespread disruptions, including missed paychecks for millions of federal employees, delayed food assistance benefits, and problems in air travel. Seven Democrats and one independent joined nearly all Senate Republicans in supporting the measure. The only Republican to vote against it was Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky.

The vote followed a weekend breakthrough in bipartisan negotiations. A group of senators reached an agreement after several weeks of intermittent talks, leading to a procedural vote late Sunday night that secured the necessary 60 votes to advance the funding bill and paved the way for Monday’s final vote.

The funding package includes provisions to reverse the Trump administration’s reductions in the federal workforce during the shutdown and to protect against further layoffs through the end of January. It also guarantees back pay for affected federal employees and incorporates three full-year appropriations bills, one of which fully funds the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) through September 30, 2026.

However, the agreement does not renew subsidies for Affordable Care Act (ACA) health insurance premiums that are due to expire later this year. Most Democrats had initially refused to support any funding bill that did not include a plan to maintain those subsidies.

Even after the agreement was reached, several Senate Democrats remained divided over the compromise. Many argued that Republicans would not agree to extend the ACA subsidies without the leverage of a continuing shutdown, and that ending the standoff prematurely weakened their negotiating position.

“As long as there is still any time left to reverse the MAGA health care hike, I believe we must do everything we can to force Republicans to the negotiating table,” said Senator Patty Murray, a Democrat from Washington and the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee that helped draft the full-year funding bills.

The appropriations measures included in the package cover funding for agriculture, military construction and veterans affairs, and the legislative branch—three of the 12 appropriations bills Congress must still approve before the continuing resolution expires at the end of January.

By Tamilla Hasanova