Washington / PNN /
The U.S. Senate voted 60–40 to pass a government funding bill as part of the first phase of an agreement aimed at ending the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.
According to CNN, at least eight Democrats joined Republicans in voting to fund the government through January 30. In return, Republicans pledged to bring the issue of healthcare funding to a vote in December.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said that the chamber was expected to vote on advancing a House-passed bill that would be amended to combine short-term funding—keeping the government open through January—with a package of three full-year appropriations bills.
The House of Representatives must still approve the revised package and send it to President Donald Trump for his signature, a process that could take several days.
Earlier, Democrats had resisted attempts to pass a temporary funding measure, seeking to pressure Republicans into agreeing to healthcare reforms that would include extending subsidies set to expire under the Affordable Care Act.
The Senate vote came as President Trump reaffirmed on Sunday his commitment to ending federal support for healthcare under the “Obamacare” program—an element Democrats insist must remain in place as a condition for ending the 40-day government shutdown.
As of Sunday, the shutdown had entered its 40th day, sidelining hundreds of thousands of federal employees, disrupting food assistance programs, closing public parks, and straining the travel sector. Staffing shortages in air traffic control also threatened to disrupt travel during the busy Thanksgiving holiday season later this month.
U.S. authorities have warned that the pace of air travel could soon slow dramatically, with thousands of flights canceled or delayed, and passengers facing major chaos due to the ongoing shutdown.
The Trump administration has ordered airlines to reduce flight operations at 40 airports to ease the burden on air traffic controllers who have been working without pay during the federal freeze.
By Sunday evening, more than 2,300 flights within the United States had been canceled and over 8,000 delayed, according to data from the flight-tracking platform FlightAware.
The government shutdown—which began on October 1—has halted pay for tens of thousands of air traffic controllers, airport security officers, and other federal workers.
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy told Fox News on Sunday that with Thanksgiving just two weeks away, air travel is expected to slow down significantly, even as millions of Americans prepare to visit their families.
