After nearly 41 days of a shutdown, the Senate voted 60 to 40 to invoke cloture and defeat a Democratic filibuster on a funding package to reopen the government. The 60th vote arrived late Sunday night when Sen. John Cornyn reached the Capitol after travel delays linked to the shutdown\u2019s strain on air traffic control. Members in the chamber cheered when the tally hit 60. One Republican, Sen. Rand Paul, opposed the measure. Eight members of the Democratic caucus crossed over: Sens. Dick Durbin, Tim Kaine, Jeanne Shaheen, Maggie Hassan, Catherine Cortez Masto, Jacky Rosen, John Fetterman, and Independent Angus King, who caucuses with Democrats. Final passage must still occur, but breaking the filibuster cleared the key hurdle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sen. Angus King explained why he switched paths. \u201cAfter six weeks \u2014 going on seven weeks \u2014 that path wasn\u2019t working,\u201d he said, arguing that continuing the shutdown would not force Republicans to extend health care tax credits. \u201cThere\u2019s no evidence that it would.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The agreement would reopen the federal government through January 30, 2026. It also advances a three bill minibus to fund the legislative branch, military construction and Veterans Affairs, and the Department of Agriculture for the full fiscal year. Democrats who backed the package secured language that prevents mass layoffs of federal workers through January 30 and guarantees back pay for federal employees fired during the shutdown. They also obtained a stand alone vote in December on extending Affordable Care Act subsidies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Republicans kept the package free of an immediate subsidy extension. President Donald Trump underscored the GOP stance on broader benefit policy, saying, \u201cWe\u2019ll never agree to give any substantial money, or any money to really prisoners, illegals, to come into our country, and I think the Democrats understand that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The shutdown began on October 1 when Democrats rejected a short term House funding bill that would have kept the government open until November 21. Democrats insisted Congress first address expiring ACA subsidies and reverse cuts to Medicaid included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Republicans said those cuts targeted waste, fraud, and abuse and refused to negotiate health policy during a shutdown. Weeks of failed Senate votes followed until Sunday\u2019s bipartisan breakthrough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Air travel has suffered widespread delays and staffing shortages. The union for air traffic controllers warned that fatigue and financial stress are eroding safety. Union president Nick Daniels said controllers \u201chave continued to show up during the shutdown\u201d and \u201cdeserve to be recognized for what\u2019s going on.\u201d Staffing problems were reported at major facilities from Dallas to Chicago, Phoenix, and Las Vegas. Travelers faced ground stops and long waits. SNAP benefits were caught in fast moving court fights. An appeals court backed full payments, while a temporary Supreme Court order allowed reduced payments for several days. Many families remained in limbo as legal steps unfolded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the White House and on Capitol Hill, the political pressure increased. Trump publicly demanded that controllers \u201cget back to work, NOW,\u201d threatened penalties for those who did not, and said he would recommend a ten thousand dollar bonus for controllers who worked through the shutdown. Daniels replied that he would accept anything that \u201crecognizes these hardworking men and women,\u201d while stressing that controllers should not be used as political pawns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The crossover votes reopened old rifts inside the party and focused anger on Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. Rep. Ro Khanna said Schumer \u201cis no longer effective and should be replaced. If you can\u2019t lead the fight to stop healthcare premiums from skyrocketing for Americans, what will you fight for?\u201d Progressive organizers and several elected Democrats called the agreement a capitulation. Leah Greenberg of Indivisible warned that \u201ccaving now will teach Trump and Republicans that they can win any fight simply by threatening to cause terrible harm to regular people.\u201d California Gov. Gavin Newsom said, \u201cAmerica deserves better.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some Democrats framed the deal terms as far too thin. Sen. Tammy Baldwin said \u201ca wink and a nod to deal with this healthcare crisis later \u2014 with no actual guarantees \u2014 is just not enough for me.\u201d Rep. Greg Casar said \u201caccepting nothing but a pinkie promise from Republicans isn\u2019t a compromise \u2014 it\u2019s capitulation.\u201d One House Democrat fumed that Democrats \u201cgot a Bundt cake in return.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even Democrats who opposed the bill expressed frustration with prolonging the stalemate. Sen. Elizabeth Warren said, \u201cI just don\u2019t get what the point is of delaying even longer.\u201d She added that she wanted Republicans to restore health care funding but did not want \u201cto impose more pain on people who are hungry and who haven\u2019t been paid.\u201d Sen. Chris Coons pledged to vote no because of the subsidy issue but conceded, \u201cI understand, I respect my colleagues who are saying it\u2019s time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sen. Bernie Sanders urged opposition, warning, \u201cIf this vote succeeds, over 20 million Americans are going to see at least a doubling in their premiums. For certain groups of people, it will be a tripling and a quadrupling of their premiums.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Backers of the deal said the shutdown was inflicting needless harm and that the agreement created at least a path to debate health care later. King called it \u201ca win for the American people,\u201d saying it would \u201cput people back to work\u201d and \u201cfeed the hungry.\u201d Kaine emphasized protections for federal workers, noting provisions that reverse firings and block new ones through January. Fetterman, who had consistently urged reopening, said it \u201cshould\u2019ve never come to this,\u201d calling the long lapse \u201ca failure.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Alongside the stopgap, the Senate will take up a three part appropriations package to fully fund certain areas for the year. Legislative branch operations would be covered, along with military construction and the Department of Veterans Affairs. The package also funds the Department of Agriculture, which oversees SNAP and the WIC program. Full year funding would protect those programs from lapses at least through November 2026. Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins pushed the package forward, saying her staff \u201cmissed an entire night\u2019s sleep to get this package together.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Republicans hold a 53 to 47 majority but needed 60 votes to break a filibuster. Until Sunday, repeated attempts to reopen the government failed because Democrats withheld support. The final 60 to 40 tally relied on eight Democratic caucus votes and every present Republican except Rand Paul. The last vote arrived with Cornyn\u2019s late night dash from the airport after shutdown related flight chaos. That sequence underscored how close the margin was and how the shutdown itself complicated the effort to end it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because the Senate package differs from the earlier House bill, the House must vote on this agreement. Speaker Mike Johnson praised the Senate movement and warned members to return on 36 hour notice. \u201cWe have to do this as quickly as possible,\u201d he said, promising long days and long nights. He said reopening this week would let Congress get back to regular work. House Democrats signaled deep resistance. Rep. Jimmy Gomez said he is an \u201cF NO\u201d on the vote. Party leaders plan to huddle before the measure arrives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The sharpest ouster calls came from Rep. Ro Khanna, who said Schumer \u201cshould be replaced.\u201d The criticism argued that party leaders misplayed their leverage and failed to secure even a partial extension of the ACA subsidies. Progressive activists rallied the same theme, urging Democrats not to concede on health care. Schumer himself said he would vote no and \u201ckeep fighting,\u201d arguing the package did not address what he called a health care crisis. Earlier in the year he had aligned with a small group on a funding vote, but this time he led the resistance and still lost members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Supporters of the agreement say the vote stops the bleeding. King said, \u201cThe shutdown wasn\u2019t achieving its goal, and it was at the same time hurting a lot of people.\u201d Opponents warn that the deal trades leverage for promises. Baldwin called the assurances \u201cnot enough.\u201d Casar said it was \u201ccapitulation.\u201d Sanders predicted sharp premium spikes without subsidy action. Trump demanded federal workers in critical roles return and promised bonuses for those who did. The controllers\u2019 union said recognition is welcome but stressed safety and stability over politics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If these steps proceed, a government restart is imminent. Air travel and SNAP operations should begin to stabilize, furloughed workers would return, and back pay would flow. The policy fight over health care will continue into December, and the political fight inside the Democratic Party is likely to continue much longer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
After nearly 41 days of a shutdown, the Senate voted 60 to 40 to invoke cloture and defeat a Democratic filibuster on a funding package to reopen the government. The 60th vote arrived late Sunday night when Sen. John Cornyn reached the Capitol after travel delays linked to the shutdown\u2019s strain on air traffic control. Members in the chamber cheered when the tally hit 60. One Republican, Sen. Rand Paul, opposed the measure. Eight members of the Democratic caucus crossed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":6694,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,18,20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6693","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-democrats","category-politics","category-propaganda"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/chumereberine.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6693","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6693"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6693\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6696,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6693\/revisions\/6696"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6694"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6693"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6693"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6693"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}