The U.S. Senate took the first step toward ending the longest government shutdown in the country’s history, with lawmakers agreeing to move forward with a stopgap funding package.
The Republican-led proposal would keep the government open until Jan. 30 and comes after a weekend of negotiations between Republicans and Democrats to end the government shutdown, which entered its 41st day on Monday.
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The government shutdown, which exceeds the previous record of 35 days in 2018 during President Donald Trump’s first term, has affected air travel across the country, deprived millions of Americans of food assistance and left more than 1.3 million federal employees furloughed or working without pay.
What exactly did the Senate vote on?
The Senate passed a procedural vote on Sunday, meaning the bill has not been passed by a vote, but it allows the bill to move forward, allowing senators to debate it and ultimately vote on it. This 60-40 test vote marks the first step in a series of steps.
“Now, this is what’s called a shutdown vote, and it’s the process by which the Senate agrees to continue debate on the bill and begins introducing and passing legislation aimed at ending the shutdown,” Al Jazeera’s Mike Hanna reported from Washington, D.C.
Even if the Senate ultimately passes the bill, it would still need to be approved by the House of Representatives before being sent to President Trump for his signature.
Republicans hold 53 seats in the Senate and Democrats hold 47, but Republicans lack the 60 votes needed to pass the bill. Eight senators who caucused with Democrats voted to advance the Republican bill.
Republicans hold 220 seats in the House of Representatives, and Democrats hold 212.
What is and isn’t included in a funding package and why does it matter?
The measure would provide annual funding to certain branches of government, such as food assistance programs and the Legislature.
Health insurance subsidies under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which Democrats have been pushing to pass in a funding package, will not be extended. The ACA was passed in 2010 under President Barack Obama and expanded health insurance coverage.
But centrist Democrats and Republicans have reached an agreement to vote in December on extending the health care tax credit, which is set to expire this year. Subsidies under the ACA help low-income Americans pay for private insurance premiums.
According to the US-based news site Politico, Democrats have promised to keep public servants furloughed by the Trump administration during the government shutdown and extend expiring health care tax credits.
However, no official information regarding this bill is currently available.
In a statement before the vote, Senate Republican leader John Thune praised the “bipartisan manner” in handling the crisis.
But Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer expressed concern. “For months, Democrats have been fighting to force the Senate to address the health care crisis. This bill does nothing to ensure that the crisis is addressed,” he said.
On Saturday, President Trump ratcheted up the pressure on Democrats by proposing to send ACA subsidies directly to people’s bank accounts.
“I encourage Senate Republicans to take the hundreds of billions of dollars currently being sent to money-siphoning insurance companies and send them directly to the people to save the poor health care provided by Obamacare, so they can buy better health care for themselves and have money left over,” he posted on his Truth Social platform.
In July, President Trump and Congress cut Medicaid funding by $930 billion over the next 10 years as part of the “Big Beautiful Bill.” Medicaid is the largest government-run health care program and provides care to low-income people.
Which Democrats voted for the bill?
The bill passed on a 60-40 vote. Eight members of the Senate Democratic Caucus voted in favor of the bill. All Republicans except Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul voted in favor of the bill.
Democratic senators who voted in favor of the motion to advance the bill included Dick Durbin of Illinois. Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire; John Fetterman of Pennsylvania. Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen of Nevada; and Tim Kaine of Virginia.
Maine Independent Sen. Angus King, who caucuses with Democrats, also voted in favor of the bill.
Did this bill receive pushback from other Democrats?
yes.
Before the vote, Schumer said he could not support the bill “in good faith.” The Senate minority leader, who faced criticism from fellow Democrats for voting with Republicans to keep the government open in March, said his party is now “sounding the alarm” on the health care sector.
“We will not give up the fight,” Schumer said.
Bernie Sanders, an independent senator from Vermont who is caucusing with Democrats, said it would be a “terrible mistake” to abandon the fight.
Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut said the support for Democratic candidates in local and state elections last week was because voters expect Democrats to stick to the deal.
Democratic candidate Zoran Mamdani won the New York mayoral election on Tuesday. On the same day, Democrats also won gubernatorial races in New Jersey and Virginia.
Since the government shutdown began, Democratic senators have voted 14 times to extend the ACA tax credits and not reopen the government.
How much money was lost during the shutdown and what impact did it have on people?
According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), approximately 750,000 federal employees have been furloughed as a result of the government shutdown. Furloughed employees are suspended for a period of time without pay or fired.
This would result in approximately $400 million a day in lost wages, the CBO said. Based on this number, the closure would have resulted in an estimated $16 billion in payroll losses over 40 days.
Scott Lucas, a professor of U.S. and international politics at the Ireland-based Clinton Institute at University College Dublin, estimates the loss to the U.S. economy is between $7 billion and $14 billion. “The loss in gross domestic product (GDP) for this quarter is estimated to be around 1.5%,” he told Al Jazeera.
If ultimately passed and enacted into law, the bill introduced Sunday would bring back furloughed federal workers, reimburse states that funded federal programs during the shutdown, prevent further layoffs through January, and ensure workers have a paycheck once the shutdown ends.
Lucas added that millions of Americans are currently paying more than twice as much for health insurance as the tax credit is scheduled to expire. And he’s not sure whether those credits will be extended on the December ballot, he said.
He also noted that approximately 42 million Americans have lost food assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). “There is no government support for these payments, and the Trump administration has ordered states that offered food aid payments to return that money,” he told Al Jazeera.
What’s next?
Al Jazeera’s Hanna explained that once the closing resolution is passed, a simple majority in the Senate is needed to vote on any subsequent legislation.
“The important thing about the shutdown vote is that once it passes with a 60 percent majority, all subsequent votes are taken by a simple majority. So it looks like it’s going to be smooth sailing in the Senate for Republicans to pass this bill and end this shutdown,” Hanna said.
If the Senate ultimately passes the bill, an identical version would need to pass the House and be signed by President Trump. This process may take several days.
