US senate passes bill to end government shutdown, awaits final House vote

Senate Democrats reached a deal with Republicans to end the longest government shutdown, awaiting House action.

Legislation to reopen the government after the longest shutdown in history awaits action in the House after a small group of Senate Democrats ratified a deal with Republicans despite searing criticism from within their party.

After a 41-day shutdown, legislation to reopen the government is pending in the House following a Senate deal.(AP)

The 41-day shutdown could last a few more days as members of the House, kept on recess since mid-September, return to Washington to vote on the legislation. President Donald Trump has signaled support for the bill, saying Monday that “we’re going to be opening up our country very quickly.”

The final Senate vote, 60-40, broke a grueling stalemate that lasted more than six weeks as Democrats demanded that Republicans negotiate with them to extend health care tax credits that expire Jan. 1. The Republicans never did, and just enough moderate Democrats eventually switched their votes as federal food aid was delayed, airport delays worsened and hundreds of thousands of federal workers continued to go unpaid.

Meanwhile, Americans are stretched to the limit as they wait for the U.S. Supreme Court and Congress to decide when full payments will resume under the SNAP food aid program. Trump also asked the justices to throw out a jury’s finding that he owes $5 million for sexually abusing and later defaming writer E. Jean Carroll.

House Speaker Mike Johnson urged lawmakers to start returning to Washington “right now” given shutdown-related travel delays, but an official notice issued after the Senate vote said the earliest the House will vote is Wednesday afternoon.