A vote in the Senate is scheduled for Monday, and House members have been given 36 hours’ notice to return.
Senate signs deal to end historic government shutdown
Lawmakers agree to end longest government shutdown in history and reopen government through January 30th
WASHINGTON – The longest government shutdown in history is nearing an end, as food aid payments stall and flight cancellations and delays confuse travelers.
The U.S. Senate on Sunday took a major step towards voting on a bipartisan deal reached between some Democrats, Republicans and President Donald Trump’s White House to fully reopen the government through January 30.
The agreement would also continue funding for a variety of other federal programs, including food stamps and veterans benefits, into next year.
The decision by a group of moderate Senate Democrats to break away from the rest of the party marks the biggest turning point since the government shutdown began on October 1, but it deals an immediate political blow to them.
The pain for millions of Americans has steadily increased in recent weeks, and pressure on lawmakers to come together has ratcheted up. Air travel is in chaos. Flight cancellations and delays over the weekend wreaked havoc on many Americans’ plans, and federal transportation officials warned that air travel will worsen if the government doesn’t reopen soon.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Sunday directed states to reverse course on helping provide food assistance benefits, in the latest back and forth over the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) since the funds expired for the first time in history earlier this month. This follows a U.S. Supreme Court order that allowed the Trump administration to continue to set aside $4 billion to fully fund the program that provides food stamps to approximately 42 million low-income Americans.
The Senate is scheduled to vote again on Monday, November 10th.
U.S. stock futures soared on Monday after a Senate vote cleared the way for the government to reopen.
As of 9 a.m. ET, futures for the S&P 500 were expected to rise 1%, or about 65 points, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was expected to rise 177 points, or 0.4%. Futures on the Nasdaq Composite Index, which has a high proportion of high-tech stocks, rose 1.5% (386 points).
Stocks have weathered the shutdown well so far, but there are signs of tension among publicly traded companies tied to government spending.
Defense contractor General Dynamics said on an earnings call in late October that it was managing uncertain cash flow with short-term debt. “The longer[the shutdown]lasts, the greater the impact will be, especially on short-cycle businesses. Predictions in this environment are difficult at best and less reliable than we would like,” CEO Febe Novakovic told analysts.
Still, with earnings season nearly over, the percentage of S&P 500 companies reporting positive surprises is higher than the 10-year average, according to FactSet analysis.
– Andrea Riquier
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), chair of the Appropriations Committee, said the temporary funding bill to restart the government would provide back pay to all federal employees.
The bill includes three spending bills for military construction and veterans, agriculture, and the Legislature that received bipartisan support from the Senate on Aug. 1.
“Under our legislation, all federal employees, including military and Coast Guard members, Capitol Police officers, Border Patrol agents, TSA screeners, and air traffic controllers, will all receive back pay,” Collins said on the Senate floor Sunday.
The agriculture portion of the measure funds SNAP food benefits and the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program year-round. That means that even if lawmakers reach an impasse on Jan. 30, these programs are not at risk of being cut off in another shutdown.
“One of the most unfortunate and shameful consequences of this closure is that it has put these critical nutrition programs at risk for our most vulnerable families, including the 170,000 Maine residents who rely on the SNAP program,” Collins added.
– bert jansen
A deal to end the government shutdown will not only divide Democrats, it will divide families.
Stephanie Shaheen, a Democrat running for New Hampshire Congress and the daughter of former Granite State Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, blasted the shutdown agreement because it does not include an extension of federal health care funding that many Democrats are seeking.
“We need to end this shutdown and extend health benefits,” Stephanie Shaheen wrote on social media. “Otherwise, there will be no contract.”
Jeanne Shaheen was among eight Democrats who approved the closure agreement. Her daughter is running in the Democratic primary to replace Rep. Chris Pappas, who is running for the Senate seat vacated by Jeanne Shaheen.
Many Democrats are pushing hard for a closure agreement, and it could become an issue in the primary contest between Stephanie Shaheen and five other Democrats.
– zach anderson
The Trump administration needs to tell the Supreme Court today if it wants the justices to put on hold the appeals court’s decision that November’s SNAP food benefits must be paid in full.
Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson issued the order Monday morning after the Boston-based 1st Circuit Court of Appeals late Sunday upheld a federal judge’s order to fully fund the food stamp program this month despite the government shutdown.
Jackson suspended the judge’s order Friday. But she set that order to expire 48 hours after the appeals court’s ruling.
Jackson set a Tuesday morning deadline for cities, nonprofits and others to respond to the administration’s appeal. The government’s emergency request on Friday was handled by Mr. Jackson, as he is responsible for requests in that part of the country.
It is unclear whether a congressional deal to end the government shutdown would eliminate the need for a legal challenge.
– maureen groppe
Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), who along with Republicans has repeatedly voted in favor of reopening the government, apologized to Capitol Police officers who worked without pay during the government shutdown and to SNAP recipients whose food benefits were delayed.
“This should not have happened,” Fetterman said in a statement. “This was a failure.”
– bert jansen
Under the agreement to reopen the government, federal food assistance will be funded at higher levels through 2026, but for now the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program remains in limbo.
SNAP benefits, also known as food stamps, expired this month for the first time in the program’s 60-year history. A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to pay the full amount of monthly food benefits, but the Supreme Court suspended the ruling on Nov. 7, allowing the government to make some payments.
The legal dispute means 42 million Americans receiving benefits will go into the weekend wondering how much aid they will receive and when.
– zach anderson
Travelers faced thousands of flight cancellations and delays Monday as restrictions imposed by federal transportation officials in connection with a historic government shutdown extended into a fourth day.
The disruption comes as more than 10,000 flights in and out of the United States were delayed on Sunday, the most disruptions in a single day since the government shutdown began, according to FlightAware.
Transport Secretary Sean Duffy warned on the same day that disruption to air travel would worsen as the country heads into the end-of-year busy season. Even if lawmakers hammer out a deal to reopen the government this week, travelers shouldn’t expect operations at the nation’s airports to return to normal anytime soon.
– N’Dare Yancey Bragg
Thousands of laid-off federal workers will keep their jobs as part of a deal to end the federal government shutdown.
The Trump administration began layoffs on October 10, citing the need to cut costs during the shutdown, but they were put on hold by a federal judge in California. The judge also halted pending layoffs.
In addition to canceling layoffs, the closure agreement also prohibits new layoffs until January 30th.
– zach anderson
Democrats are divided over a Senate compromise that would reopen the government by ensuring a vote on extending subsidies under the Affordable Care Act, even as SNAP food benefits are cut off and flight disruptions are at their peak.
Most Senate Democrats opposed ending the government shutdown unless the program’s tax credits, also known as Obamacare, are extended when they expire Dec. 31. But eight senators who caucused with Democrats joined Republicans to break the deadlock.
“Entering this agreement is illegal,” New Jersey Governor-elect Mikie Sherrill said in a statement.
“Pathetic,” California Governor Gavin Newsom wrote in a one-word post about X.
However, most Senate Democrats remained opposed to the compromise.
“We cannot support an agreement that still leaves millions of Americans with questions about how they will pay for their health care and whether they can afford to get sick,” said Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.).
– Joey Garrison and Bert Jansen
Who were the eight Democrats who voted to advance the spending bill?
In a major change, senators late Sunday night cleared a procedural hurdle to begin the process of ending the shutdown.
Seven Democrats and one independent senator, Angus King of Maine, who caucuses with Democrats, voted to move forward with a funding deal that could reopen the government as soon as this week, along with most other Republicans.
Here is the complete list of Democrats who voted in favor of the spending bill:
- you. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada
- Senator Jacky Rosen of Nevada
- Senator Maggie Hassan (New Hampshire)
- Senator Jeanne Shaheen (New Hampshire)
- Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois
- Senator Tim Kaine (Virginia)
- Senator John Fetterman (Pennsylvania)
- Senator Angus King of Maine
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) voted against the bill.
What happens next?
Now that some Democrats have expressed renewed support for reopening the government, Congress must clear a number of procedural hurdles.
Once the new funding deal passes the Senate, which could pass as early as Monday, the package would then have to pass the House, which has not held a vote for weeks. House members have been given a 36-hour notice to return, so it will likely take several days (barring travel issues for members) to pass the Senate bill.
Senate Minority Leader John Thune (R-South Dakota) said last week that he did not expect the shutdown to last beyond Thanksgiving.
What is the contract?
The agreement includes reopening government offices through Jan. 30 and provides year-round funding for several agencies and programs, including food assistance and benefits for veterans. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) funding is expected to continue at the higher level through September.
Another element of the agreement includes a promise to hold a vote in the second week of December on legislation that could extend expired Obamacare subsidies. Tax credits, which millions of Americans rely on to help pay their insurance premiums, are a central issue in the shutdown fight.
Additionally, the agreement cancels layoffs for thousands of federal workers and prohibits potential layoffs until January 30th. Terminations have been temporarily prohibited by a federal court.
