Senate Votes 60-40 To Reopen Government

Senate Majority Leader John Thune finally got the eight Democrats/Independents he needed to vote in favor of a Continuing Resolution that will allow the government to reopen. Tonight’s vote was just one step — though a critically important one — in a process that could take several days to play out. Among other things, the CR is different from the one that passed the House on September 19 so the House will have to vote on it again.

The government shutdown that began on October 1 entered its 40th day today, the longest in history. Senate Democrats had rejected a House-passed Continuing Resolution (CR) 14 times over those many weeks primarily because they wanted an extension of expiring health care subsidies under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

In the Senate, appropriations legislation like this requires 60 votes to pass. The Senate has 53 Republicans, 45 Democrats, and two Independents who caucus with the Democrats making it an effective 53-47 split. One Republican, Kentucky’s Rand Paul, opposes the CR, so Thune needed eight rather than seven Democrats/Independents to reach the 60-vote threshold. He got exactly that tonight in a vote on a procedural motion to move forward to debate on the bill.

Three Democrats/Independents have been voting with Republicans in favor of the CR all along: Democrats Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada and John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Independent Angus King of Maine. Tonight they were joined by five more Democrats: Dick Durbin (Illinois), Maggie Hassan (New Hampshire), Tim Kaine (Virginia), Jacky Rosen (Nevada), and Jeanne Shaheen (New Hampshire).

Democrats didn’t get what they wanted on ACA health care benefits. Thune only promised a Senate vote on extending the ACA subsidies by the second week in December. Whatever happens in the Senate is not binding on the House.

The House approved a CR on September 19 and hasn’t met for legislative business since then. House Speaker Mike Johnson has insisted he would not bring the House back into session until the Senate approved his CR that would have kept the government operating through November 21. With November 21 fast approaching, the Senate bill changes the end date to January 30, 2026. Any changes must be approved by the House, so they will have to return to Washington to vote on it. When Johnson will bring them back is at least in part dependent on how quickly the Senate completes action, which in turn relies on whether any Senators want to use up all the time allowed for debate. It could be several days before everything is completed.

The Senate bill doesn’t include any ACA-related provisions. It does however prevent any Reductions-in-Force (RIFs) through January 30 and undos any RIFs imposed since October 1 as well as guaranteeing back pay to government workers. Although Congress passed a law in 2019 requiring government employees to be paid retroactively in any shutdown (P.L. 116-1), the Trump Administration argued it wasn’t binding.

The CR incorporates three of the 12 regular FY2026 appropriations bills that had earlier passed the Senate — Military Construction-Veterans Affairs (MilCon/VA), Agriculture-Rural Development-Food and Drug Administration (Ag/FDA), and Legislative Branch (Leg Branch) that funds Congress and its support agencies like the Government Accountability Office (GAO). Other departments and agencies like NASA are funded at their current levels through January 30.

Most Senate Democrats opposed the bill and many House Democrats are objecting to it. In the House, only a simple majority is needed to pass legislation, however.  Since September 23, Johnson has declined to swear in a new Democrat, Adelita Grijalva of Arizona, because the House has not been in legislative session. Assuming he administers the oath of office as soon as the House reconvenes, there will be 219 Republicans and 214 Democrats.