US Senate Approves Funding Bill To End Longest Government Shutdown

The US Senate has approved a crucial funding bill that could pave the way to ending the longest government shutdown in American history. The measure passed late Monday with a 60–40 vote, as nearly all Republicans and eight Democrats broke ranks to support it. The bill will now move to the House of Representatives before reaching President Donald Trump’s desk for final approval. Trump signaled earlier in the day that he would be willing to sign it.

With Republicans holding a 53–47 majority, the measure needed bipartisan backing to clear the 60-vote threshold. Democratic Senators Dick Durbin, John Fetterman, Catherine Cortez Masto, Maggie Hassan, Tim Kaine, Jackie Rosen, and Jeanne Shaheen crossed party lines to support the bill, along with Maine’s independent Senator Angus King, who often votes with Democrats. The funding package now heads to the Republican-controlled House, where lawmakers have been out of session since mid-September.

The shutdown, which began in October, has left about 1.4 million federal employees either furloughed or working without pay, disrupting a wide range of essential services, from air travel to food assistance programs that support more than 41 million Americans. On Monday alone, flight tracker FlightAware reported over 2,400 cancellations and around 9,000 delays across the country.