After more than 40 days of a federal government shutdown, the U.S. Senate on Monday (Nov. 11) passed a temporary funding bill by a vote of 60 to 40, marking a key step toward reopening government operations. The bill extends federal funding through January 30 next year and guarantees back pay for affected federal employees. It must still pass the House of Representatives before being signed into law by President Donald Trump.
The bill’s success in the Senate hinged on seven Democratic senators and one Democratic-aligned independent crossing party lines to support the measure, allowing Republicans to reach the 60-vote threshold needed for passage. The House, currently in recess, is scheduled to reconvene on Wednesday. Speaker Mike Johnson has urged lawmakers to return to Washington promptly to vote on the bill, though with Republicans holding only a slim majority, its passage remains uncertain.
The shutdown has left 1.4 million federal workers either furloughed or working without pay, and disrupted numerous government services nationwide.
Under the bipartisan agreement, the bill not only provides short-term funding but also allocates full-year budgets for the Department of Agriculture, military construction, and Congressional operations. It further extends funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) through September next year, a program supporting roughly one in eight Americans.
However, some Democrats voiced frustration over their party leadership’s decision to decouple healthcare subsidy negotiations from the funding talks, arguing that the shutdown should have been used as leverage to secure an extension of Affordable Care Act (ACA) premium subsidies. Lawmakers warned that if Congress fails to renew the subsidies expiring in January, future funding negotiations could again stall — potentially triggering another shutdown.