Senate passes resolution to reopen government through January, sends legislation to House

The Senate on Monday night passed a continuing resolution that would reopen the government and keep it funded through the end of January, marking a major step toward ending the longest government shutdown on record.

The government has been shut down since Oct. 1 and became the longest on record last week after it surpassed the 2018-2019 record of 35 days. It has now been shut down for 41 days.

The resolution passed on a 60-40 vote, which saw eight Democratic and Independent senators vote with Republicans. GOP Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky voted against the resolution. 

"After 41 long days, I’m glad that we finally have a clear path to ending this unnecessary shutdown in a responsible way that quickly pays federal workers and reopens the federal government," Senate Majority Leader John Thune said in a post on X. "It also puts the Senate in a positive position to continue what we started months ago — funding as much of the government as possible through the regular-order appropriations process."

The resolution would give backpay to many federal workers and reinstate employees who were fired at the start of the shutdown, but would not authorize the extension of enhanced subsidies through insurance companies for Obamacare.

The legislation will now need to go back to the House for approval because of changes that were made to its resolution, and then will need to be signed by President Donald Trump. The House is expected to vote on it as soon as Wednesday.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.