The US Senate voted on Monday (10/11/2025) in favor of starting debate on the bill passed by the House of Representatives to end the government shutdown.
With a result of 60 votes in favor and 40 against, the procedural vote allows negotiations to move forward and opens the door to final approval of the measure.
For the proposal to be successful, a simple majority (60) was required, which was achieved thanks to the support of eight Democratic senators, who joined the Republicans.
The Democrats who voted for the debate were Katherine Cortez Masto, John Fetterman, Dick Durbin, Maggie Hassan, Tim Kaine, Angus King, Jackie Rosen and Jeanne Shaheen.
The Senate will proceed with a series of votes before final approval, including consideration of amendments to the House bill.
These amendments seek to reverse the agreement reached by the majority of Republican senators and the eight dissident Democrats.
The longest closure in history
If this bill is approved in the Senate, it must pass through the House and receive its approval there before it can take effect.
The agreement will allow the federal government to temporarily reopen, which has been in effect for 40 days and become the longest in the country’s history, and ensures retroactive pay for federal employees affected by the shutdown, while full budgets for fiscal year 2026 are negotiated.
The measure could end a crisis that has caused thousands of flights to be canceled across the country, food assistance programs suspended, and more than a million federal workers without receiving pay.
The lack of agreements between Republicans and Democrats on health benefits appears to be the main point of contention as about 24 million people, especially seniors, could lose Obamacare coverage, if an agreement is not reached before December.
Mg (Effy, AP)
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