People wait in line at a security checkpoint at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport in Charlotte, North Carolina, on November 9, 2025. The FAA has imposed flight cuts at 40 high-volume airports, including Charlotte-Douglas International Airport, because of the government shutdown. (Photo by Grant Baldwin/Getty Images)
This report has been updated.
WASHINGTON – Seven U.S. Senate Democrats and one independent joined Republicans on Sunday night to advance legislation to reopen the government and temporarily keep it open until the end of January, after a record-breaking shutdown that began Oct. 1.
Democratic Senators Dick Durbin of Illinois, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Maggie Hassan and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Tim Kaine of Virginia, and Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen of Nevada voted with the GOP majority to advance the stopgap measure through a 60-40 procedural vote.
Sen. Angus King of Maine, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, also voted for the vote.
Fetterman, King and Cortez Masto had already voted with Republicans to reopen the government in the previous 14 votes. As of Sunday, Republicans who control the chamber did not have the 60 votes needed to overcome the filibuster hurdle.
Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, who has consistently voted against the ephemeral funding measure, voted no again.
The deal would also free up year-round funding for a vital food aid program that benefits 42 million Americans and bring back federal workers that President Donald Trump laid off after the government shutdown.
It contains no language addressing skyrocketing premiums for those enrolled in individual health plans in the Affordable Care Act marketplace, a key sticking point for Democrats. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said on the Senate floor delayed Sunday that he is committed to holding a separate vote on health insurance subsidies no later than the second week of December.
In a press conference after the vote, Rosen said Democrats “also have an opportunity to hold Republicans accountable on the ACA.”
“Are they committed to doing this? Are they committed leaders who have said, ‘You can come to the table about health care once the government is open.’
New text of ephemeral emergency funding act The bill published on Sunday evening proposes keeping the government open until January 30th. The bill would also rehire all federal employees who were laid off after the shutdown began, restore their jobs with back pay and prohibit further layoffs until ephemeral funding expires.
As part of the agreement, the package will be accompanied by three fiscal year 2026 funding bills, including the agricultural programs, veterans benefits, military construction and congressional appropriations bills.
Divided Democrats
Several Senate Democrats walked out of a long closed-door session early Sunday evening upset that the deal includes nothing to address rising health care premiums on which the party has staked the 40-day shutdown.
The subsidies for those who buy insurance on the Affordable Care Act insurance marketplace will expire at the end of this year.
“In my opinion, health care is not included in this, so my vote is no,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.
Sens. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland and Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin also issued statements after the caucus meeting saying they would vote no. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer also told reporters on his way out that he opposed the deal.
Sen. Andy Kim of New Jersey said on social media he would oppose it. “I have made it clear that we need real action to stop the devastating rise in health care costs that is hurting millions of families,” he said.
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., issued a statement expressing support for the deal and emphasizing that Senate Republicans had promised a vote on expanding health care subsidies.
“This deal guarantees a vote on extending the Affordable Care Act’s premium tax credits, something Republicans have been unwilling to do. Lawmakers know their constituents expect them to vote for it, and if they don’t, they could very well be replaced at the ballot box by someone who will,” Kaine said.
Government reopening will take time
The vote on Sunday evening does not mean that the government will return to work immediately.
The bill must go through the Senate’s procedural steps and then receive approval from the U.S. House of Representatives, which has not been in session since September 19. House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, attended the Washington Commanders football game with Trump in Landover, Maryland, on Sunday night.
Trump spoke briefly to reporters about news of the deal after leaving the NFL game, telling them: “It looks like we’re getting very close to the end of the shutdown.”
Nearly a million federal workers missed paychecks during the lockdown, and food aid for the poorest Americans stopped in early November.
Air travel is also in trouble as the shutdown drags on and air traffic controllers are under pressure without pay. The Federal Aviation Administration began Cutting flights Friday at 40 major airports in the United States. The cuts are expected to result in a 10% reduction in air traffic.
SNAP funding
The agreement includes provisions that Democrats said the Trump administration wanted to cut or cut entirely, including fresh fruit and vegetable subsidies for mothers with children and monthly food packages for low-income seniors.
The legislation would funnel $8.2 billion into the Special Nutritional Supplements Program for Women, Infants and Children, also known as WIC, an raise of about $600 million over last year’s program amount.
During the shutdown, the government used $150 million from a U.S. Department of Agriculture rainy day fund to maintain the program. The bill would replenish emergency funds.
The bill also fully funds the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and child nutrition programs, including subsidized school breakfast and lunch and food availability during summer school breaks.
Democrats on the Senate Budget Committee say it “includes critical funding for SNAP and other critical nutrition programs as President Trump fights in court to eliminate benefits for 42 million Americans who rely on SNAP to feed their families during the government shutdown,” they said in a statement Invoice summary.
The USDA ordered states to begin releasing November SNAP benefits to recipients’ benefit debit cards after a federal district judge and a district court in Rhode Island ordered the Trump administration to do so last week.
Trump appealed the order to the Supreme Court, which overturned the decision. A memo from the department on Saturday informed states that full benefits had been released take back part of it.
The bill would also direct money into the SNAP emergency fund.
Hemp ban
According to a Sunday statement from Hemp Industry and Farmers of America, hemp farmers are sounding the alarm over a provision in the bill that they say would “effectively eliminate the legal hemp industry established under the 2018 Farm Bill.”
Lawmakers “slam the door on 325,000 American jobs and force consumers back into dangerous black markets,” said Brian Swensen, executive director of the industry group.
Swensen also added, “The hemp industry has been ready and willing to work on responsible regulations – age restrictions, testing requirements, proper labeling – but instead of cooperation, the industry is receiving a misguided ban through backdoor middle deals.”
Fear of the house
Several House Democrats, including a top appropriator, criticized the deal.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries blamed Republicans for the proposal in a statement Sunday evening, saying Democrats in the House and Senate had “put up a brave fight” over the past seven weeks.
“It now appears that Senate Republicans will introduce a budget bill to the House of Representatives that does not extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits. Because of Republicans’ refusal to address the health crisis they created, costs will skyrocket for tens of millions of Americans,” Jeffries said.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the top House Democratic appropriator, said she disagreed with the release of the Veterans and Military Construction Act as an appendix to the deal.
“Congress must invest in veterans, address the health care crisis that is increasing costs for more than 20 million Americans, and prevent President Trump from spending appropriated dollars in our communities,” DeLauro, D-Conn., said in a statement.
Rep. Angie Craig joined other House Democrats in criticizing the Senate proceedings on social media.
“If people think this is a ‘deal,’ I can sell you a bridge. I’m not going to put 24 million Americans at risk of losing their health care. I’m a no,” said Craig of Minnesota.
