By Anjali Sharma
WASHINGTON – US House of Representatives on Wednesday night voted on the bipartisan funding package bill, which to end the longest federal government shutdown in US history, now stretched into its 42nd day.
The measure is passed and will be send to President Donald Trump’s desk, with the president confirming he will sign it into law.
The vote followed a breakthrough agreement reached between a small group of moderate Senate Democrats, Republican leaders, and the White House.
The deal had been under quiet negotiation for days, came as a surprise to many in Congress.
“The deal is very good,” Trump said praising the compromise that paved the way for the shutdown’s end, reports domestic media.
The news of the accord triggered fierce backlash within the Democratic Party, where many lawmakers accused their Senate colleagues of capitulating to Republican demands.
The dissenters included several high-profile progressives who denounced the move as “a surrender” and vowed to oppose it.
The group of 8 Democrats who negotiated the deal, consist of mostly moderates not looking for re-election in 2026, including four former governors and two retiring senators.
Senator Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen of Nevada, Dick Durbin of Illinois, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Maggie Hassan and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Tim Kaine of Virginia, and Angus King of Maine, an independent who caucuses with Democrats.
Under the terms of the agreement, the government would be funded through January 2026, with provisions to reinstate thousands of federal workers recently laid off during the shutdown.
The bill does not include the extension of expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies, a central Democratic demand throughout the standoff. Instead, the agreement guarantees a stand-alone Senate vote in December to address the expiring health care tax credits before they lapse at year’s end a vote whose outcome remains uncertain.
The Congressional Budget Office estimated last month that the prolonged shutdown could reduce U.S. GDP by up to 1.5% by November 12, with USD 11 billion in losses potentially unrecoverable.
The closure has also paralyzed numerous federal services and disrupted critical sectors including aviation, food assistance, and healthcare.
The biggest brunt of the damage has been dealt to the domestic aviation sector, with the Federal Aviation Administration continued to scale back flights to manage staffing shortages among unpaid air traffic controllers.
FlightAware reported over 880 cancellations and 650 delays across the US.
The FAA is expected to increase flight reductions to 8% on November 13 and 10% on November 14, with experts warned that disruptions will likely persist even after government operations resume.
The bill ended a shutdown that has left millions of Americans struggling to access essential services, while costing the U.S. economy billions.
Lawmakers from both chambers are expected to reconvene in Washington throughout Wednesday, bracing for the final vote that could finally bring an end to 6 weeks of gridlock.
