U.S. Senate Moves to End Record-Long Government Shutdown

The U.S. Senate has passed a key bill to restore federal government operations, ending the longest shutdown in history.

The Gaze reports this, referring to CNN and Reuters.

The measure, approved late Sunday by a 60–40 vote, reached the bipartisan threshold needed to overcome a filibuster. 

It follows weeks of failed attempts, fourteen in total, to end the funding standoff that has crippled federal services, delayed food assistance programs, and disrupted air travel nationwide.

The breakthrough came after eight Senate Democrats struck a compromise with Republican leaders and the White House. 

Under the deal, Republicans agreed to hold a December vote on extending healthcare subsidies under the Affordable Care Act, which help low-income Americans pay for private insurance.

In exchange, Democrats supported a short-term funding measure that would finance the government through January 30 and bundle three full-year appropriations bills.

President Donald Trump, speaking to reporters before the vote, said: “It looks like we’re very close to ending the shutdown.”

The bill now heads to the House of Representatives, which must approve the Senate’s amended version before it can be signed by the president. Lawmakers expect the process to take several days, potentially prolonging the government’s partial closure into the following week.

The legislation also bars federal agencies from laying off employees until January 30, a move hailed by federal unions as a major victory. It temporarily halts the Trump administration’s push to shrink the federal workforce, which had been one of the shutdown’s most contentious elements.

Republican leaders plan to reconvene the Senate on Monday in an effort to fast-track the bill through procedural rules. If no bipartisan agreement is reached, a final vote could be delayed, extending the disruption further.

The protracted shutdown, the second under President Trump’s leadership, surpassing the 34-day record of 2018-2019, has had growing domestic and international consequences.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned last week that airlines may be forced to cut up to 20% of flights if the funding impasse continues.

As The Gaze reported earlier, due to the suspension of the U.S. government, the export of American weapons worth more than $5 billion to NATO allies and Ukraine has been threatened, causing concern among Washington's partners.

Read more on The Gaze about how the shutdown began: U.S. Government Shuts Down After Senate Funding Bill Fails, Trump Threatens Cuts