The Senate approved a government funding package to reopen the federal government Monday night, despite the objections of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and most Democrats.
Lawmakers voted 60-40 to pass the legislation, with eight Democrats joining Republicans in supporting the measure. Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul was the only Republican to vote no, citing insufficient spending cuts in the measure. (RELATED: Schumer Shutdown Becomes Firing Squad After Growing Number of Democrats Call for His Resignation)
Democratic Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Tim Kaine of Virginia, Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, and Dick Durbin of Illinois voted yes on the legislation to end the 41-day stay-at-home standoff. Independent Maine Sen. Angus King, who caucuses as a Democrat, also supported the funding package.
The bipartisan shutdown package would fund the government through the end of January and advance a slate of appropriations bills that would fund the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Agriculture, the Legislature and military construction for the current fiscal year.
In turn, Senate Republicans have pledged to hold a vote on expanding Affordable Care Act subsidies that are set to expire at the end of the year and to rehire federal workers laid off during the shutdown.
President Donald Trump said this reporters said in the Oval Office on Monday that he would honor the terms of the deal, calling it “very good.”
The successful vote brings Congress one step closer to ending the record lockdown. The House of Representatives will have to approve the legislation before President Donald Trump can sign the measure.
WASHINGTON, DC – NOVEMBER 9: Senator Angus King (I-ME) speaks at a post-vote press conference on Capitol Hill on November 9, 2025 in Washington, DC. The Senate convened for a rare session Sunday to try to end the government shutdown. (Photo by Anna Rose Leyden/Getty Images)
The final vote came after the same group of Democratic caucus members advanced a stopgap bill Sunday night, marking a notable break with Schumer and House Democratic leadership. The defecting senators argued that the shutdown had caused Americans too much pain and that the minor concessions obtained from Republicans were sufficient.
“Many of my friends are unhappy. They think we should have kept our government closed indefinitely,” said Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, the No. 2 Democrat who supported the shutdown agreement. said on the Senate floor Monday. “I cannot accept a strategy that wages a political fight at the expense of my neighbor’s salary or his children’s food.”
“After six weeks of shutdown, it is clear that the strategy of shutting down the government and forcing Republicans to talk about the ACA is not working,” King said in a statement. video posted on social media on Sunday evening. “The closure failed to achieve its goal and at the same time harmed many people.”
Group of seven democrats and a king voted push through the funding package Monday night despite harsh criticism from fellow Democrats, left-wing activists and party members.
Fetterman told the Daily Caller News Foundation on Monday that more than eight members of the Democratic caucus supported the deal in the Senate but were afraid to publicly support the legislation.
“There were a lot more than just eight people who wanted to vote. [yes] but they were afraid,” Fetterman said.
“What worked in the past doesn't work now,” Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin, who voted against the government funding package, told reporters Monday of Schumer's lockdown strategy. “We need to meet the moment, and we don’t do that.”
Slotkin and a significant portion of congressional Democrats criticized the shutdown agreement as insufficient because it failed to secure an extension of the ACA subsidy. Although Senate Majority Leader John Thune has promised to hold a vote on Democrats' extension bill in December, Republicans overwhelmingly oppose a clean extension.
Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn told reporters Monday that a planned vote on the Democratic ACA bill has “no chance” of passing.
Although a number of senators did not last long stayed late After passing the cloture package on Monday, all members ultimately agreed to fast-track the legislation ahead of a vote on its final passage.
“The American people have suffered long enough. Let's not needlessly drag out this bill,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said on the Senate floor Monday. “Let's get this done and get it to the House of Representatives so we can open this government.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson on Monday urged lawmakers to return to Washington to vote on the spending measure later this week. The earliest the House can vote on the bill is Wednesday, as Congress observes Veterans Day on Tuesday.
“And as of Sunday, almost half of all domestic flights and flights in the US have either been canceled or delayed. And this is a very serious situation,” Johnson told reporters. “So, I say this as a reminder, I state the obvious to all my colleagues, Republicans and Democrats in the House. You need to start getting back on the Hill now. We need to do this as quickly as possible.”
All content produced by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and unbiased news service, is available free of charge to any legitimate news publisher that can reach a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter's byline and DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our policies or partnerships with us, please contact [email protected].
