The US Capitol is shown Tuesday, the morning after the Senate passed legislation to reopen the federal government. The House could vote on the plan as soon as Wednesday.
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The House of Representatives is expected to approve a funding bill Wednesday that would end the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.
The measure, which extends funding levels for most of the government through Jan. 30, also includes three appropriations bills that would fully fund some federal programs, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) through Sept. 30, 2026. Benefits for the SNAP program, which provides food assistance to nearly 42 million people, were increased. embroiled in legal battle as a result of a shutdown.
Senate approved the law late on Mondaywith seven Democrats and one independent joining the Republican majority. The bill includes a provision to reverse layoffs imposed by the Trump administration during the shutdown.
Most Democrats on Capitol Hill angrily denounced the deal because it failed to address the main issue that has sparked the standoff: how to address health care subsidies that are set to expire at the end of the year.
As part of the compromise, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., agreed to hold a vote by mid-December on a bill Democrats would craft to extend Affordable Care Act tax breaks. Some Republicans agree that Congress needs to do something to prevent steep increases in insurance premiums for those who rely on subsidies, but it is unclear whether there are enough GOP votes to push the bill through the House. Even if a deal is reached in the next few weeks, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, has refused to guarantee a vote.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, attends a Veterans Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery on Tuesday.
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New Hampshire Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, a moderate who helped broker the deal with Thune, told reporters Monday that the shutdown has increased political pressure on the GOP to negotiate some sort of health care solution.
“If the Republicans don't come to the table, if Donald Trump, who claims he can get a deal done, is unwilling to tell Speaker Johnson, 'You need to vote, you need to do something,' then in the next election, in the midterm elections, the American people are going to hold them accountable, and we're going to continue to make this an issue.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., criticized the deal shortly before it passed the Senate and urged House Democrats to vote against it.
“We are not going to support a partisan Republican spending bill that continues to destroy the health care of the American people,” Jeffries said.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., speaks at a news conference Monday on Capitol Hill.
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Jeffries and other opponents of the deal dispute the results. elections last weekwhich marked major Democratic victories in gubernatorial and other local elections, signaled that voters supported the shutdown strategy and wanted action on health care.
Hill Republicans say weeks of flight delays due to staffing shortages and disruptions to government services will hurt Democrats who have blocked bills to reopen the government. But after the defeat of GOP candidates last week, President Trump suggested the shutdown was hurting the party.
With the midterm elections a year away, it's unclear to what extent the longest shutdown on record will influence voters' decisions, especially if concerns about the economy persist.
