The US Senate has reached an agreement that moves towards reopening the federal government in five weeks, after a group of eight members of the Senate’s Democratic minority joined with Republicans in exchange for a future vote on extending support for health care, as well as guarantees that federal employees laid off during the shutdown will be restored to their jobs.
The measure, which failed 14 times, was voted on by a vote of 60 to 40, paving the way for the government to reopen at the end of this week, according to what the American television network CBS reported.
The group of eight Democrats who joined Republicans are Dick Durbin, of Illinois; Angus King, Maine; Katherine Cortez and Jackie Rose, both of Nevada; John Fetterman, of Pennsylvania; Time Kane, by Virginia; In addition to Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan, both from New Hampshire. Republican Rand Paul, a senator from Kentucky, again voted against the project.
The proposal would allow funding for military construction, veteran-related projects, the Department of Defense, the Department of Agriculture and the Legislature through Sept. 30, 2026. It also includes a stopgap measure to fund the rest of the government through Jan. 30 of next year and bring back more than 4,000 federal employees laid off during the shutdown, according to The Hill digital newspaper.
But the project requires approval by the House of Representatives before it is sent for signature to US President Donald Trump, who indicated hours before the vote that “it seems that we are very close to the end of the lockdown.”
Pressure on Democratic senators already mounted when Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) funds, on which millions of people depend in the North American country, expired earlier this month. In addition, thousands of flights were canceled due to the lack of air traffic controllers, and the suspension of government activities threatened to contract GDP in the fourth quarter of 2025, according to White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hasnett.
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