The longest government shutdown in U.S. history may be on the verge of coming to an end. In a 60-40 vote, eight members of the Senate Democratic caucus joined Republicans in advancing a stopgap measure that would fund the government through January 30th. Sunday’s vote came after an agreement was reached that included a future vote on extending health care subsidies and assurances that federal workers furloughed during the shutdown would be reinstated.
Still, hurdles remain before the government can fully reopen. Any senator could slow the process for several days, and the House must reconvene to approve the Senate’s deal. As all of this is playing out, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says the impact on the economy is getting “worse and worse” each day the government shutdown continues.
Pennsylvania Democrat John Fetterman voted with Senate Republicans to pass a funding measure. Fetterman was one of the eight Senate Democrats to join Republicans in advancing the measure. Fetterman has broken with his party to vote in favor of the funding measure all 15 times it’s been raised in the Senate during the 40-day shutdown. He said after the vote “It should’ve never come to this. This was a failure.”
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