U.S. Senate passes deal to end longest government shutdown in history

The U.S. Capitol dome. (Photo credit: REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein)

The U.S. Senate has approved a bipartisan compromise to end the country’s longest-ever government shutdown, which left hundreds of thousands of federal workers without pay for weeks and strained public services across the nation.

The agreement, passed late Monday, follows a bitter political standoff between Republicans and Democrats over federal spending priorities and healthcare funding. The measure will temporarily fund the government and reopen federal agencies, pending approval by the House of Representatives, which is expected to vote on the bill as early as Tuesday.

Once approved, the bill will head to the desk of President Donald Trump, who has signaled he intends to sign it into law to prevent further economic fallout.

The shutdown, which stretched beyond previous records, shuttered national parks, delayed tax refunds, and disrupted paychecks for essential workers, including border patrol agents and air traffic controllers. Economists estimate the standoff cost the U.S. economy billions in lost productivity and consumer spending.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said the deal marks progress but emphasized that Democrats will continue to push for the extension of Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies as part of long-term negotiations. “We’re reopening the government, but the fight for affordable healthcare isn’t over,” Jeffries said.

Reuters reports that Members of the House of Representatives headed back to Washington on Tuesday, after a 53-day break, braving the congestion at the nation’s tangled airports for a vote that could bring the longest U.S. government shutdown in history to a close.