The Senate cleared a bipartisan funding package late Monday to reopen the government, after eight Senate Democrats crossed the aisle and joined Republicans to advance a continuing resolution bundled with three spending bills. The updated minibus keeps the government funded until Jan. 30 and includes protections and back pay for furloughed federal workers, while GOP leaders promise a vote on expiring Obamacare tax credits in the weeks ahead. This move hands the measure to the House, where Speaker Mike Johnson has said he will bring members back quickly to vote. The political break and the deal’s immediate relief for federal employees set the stage for a midweek showdown in the House.
The shutdown stalemate that had dragged on for weeks finally shifted when a group of Democrats decided to support reopening the government rather than hold out for every demand. That shift let Republicans seize momentum and push a minibus package forward after late-night votes on the Senate floor. “I think everybody’s pretty united [behind] this bill,” Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, said, and that unity was the lever that moved the process forward.
The package combines a short-term continuing resolution with three appropriations bills and cleared key procedural tests after tense hours of voting. Senators worked late into the night to bundle the measures and avoid more gridlock, with the plan now headed to the House for final action. Lawmakers were pressed by the real-world toll of the shutdown and the need to restore paychecks and services.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and his caucus had demanded an ironclad agreement on expiring Obamacare subsidies before agreeing to reopen the government, but the full deal Democrats wanted never materialized. Instead, eight Senate Democrats accepted Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s promise of a future vote on the subsidies in exchange for reopening now. Thune put a timeline on that commitment, saying, “No later than the second week of December.”
Thune made clear that a bipartisan effort to tackle the subsidies is the intended path forward, emphasizing cooperation beyond mere talking points. “We have senators, both Democrat and Republican, who are eager to get to work to address that crisis in a bipartisan way,” he said. “These senators are not interested in political games, they’re interested in finding real ways to address healthcare costs for American families. We also have a president who is willing to sit down and get to work on this issue.”
Democrats did secure concrete protections for federal employees inside the revised continuing resolution, a compromise that many cited as decisive. The package reverses the Trump administration’s firings of some furloughed workers, guarantees back pay for those who lost time, and promises future safeguards for federal staff during shutdowns. “This was the only deal on the table,” Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., one of the eight that crossed the aisle to support the package, said. “It was our best chance to reopen the government and immediately begin negotiations to extend the [Obamacare] tax credits that tens of millions of Americans rely on to keep costs down.”
Sen. Tim Kaine, another of the eight Democrats who broke with his leadership, said the combination of worker protections and the reality of mounting harm pushed him to support reopening now. He argued that waiting would only deepen the hurt federal employees faced and that the pledge to protect workers was decisive. “If you wait another week, they’re going to get hurt more, another month or even more,” Kaine said.
On the House side, Republican leadership signaled urgency and readiness to act fast once the Senate passed the package. Speaker Mike Johnson told associates he would bring members back “immediately” after Senate passage and later outlined plans for a midweek vote. “We’re going to plan on voting, on being here, at least by Wednesday,” Johnson said. “It is possible that things could shift a little bit later in the week, but right now we think we’re on track for a vote on Wednesday. So we need you here.”
Johnson also indicated the House would not circumvent normal procedures by using a suspension of the rules to fast-track the bill, opting instead for a standard process that gives full members a say. That posture acknowledges House Democrats’ opposition while preserving a GOP path forward without raising the bar to a two-thirds threshold. Republican leaders are counting on House allies to keep momentum and deliver a timely vote so furloughed workers get relief and the government resumes normal operations.
