Senate Votes to End Government Shutdown

The Senate passed legislation Monday to reopen the government, bringing the longest shutdown in history closer to an end as a small group of Democrats ratified a deal with Republicans despite searing criticism from within their party, the AP reports. The 41-day shutdown could last a few more days as members of the House, which has been on recess since mid-September, return to Washington to vote on the legislation. President Trump has signaled support for the bill, saying Monday that "we're going to be opening up our country very quickly."

The final Senate vote, 60-40, broke a grueling stalemate that lasted more than six weeks as Democrats demanded that Republicans negotiate with them to extend health care tax credits that expire Jan. 1. The Republicans never did, and five moderate Democrats eventually switched their votes as federal food aid was delayed, airport delays worsened, and hundreds of thousands of federal workers continued to go unpaid. After the vote, Senate Majority leader John Thune thanked unpaid staff and Capitol Police who stood near him on the floor. He said he realized the strain had been immense for "six excruciating weeks."

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, one of the Democrat lawmakers who spearheaded the move to compromise, said Monday that "this was the option on the table" after Republicans had refused to budge. "We had reached a point where I think a number of us believed that the shutdown had been very effective in raising the concern about health care," she said, and the promise for a future vote "gives us an opportunity to continue to address that going forward." As part of the deal, Republicans promised to hold a vote to extend the health care subsidies by mid-December, but there was no guarantee of success. Many Democrats were criticizing those who crossed party lines, with Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders calling the deal "a horrific mistake." (More on the compromise here.)