The US House of Representatives is set to vote on Wednesday on the funding bill that would end the longest government shutdown in American history, after the measure cleared a key committee hurdle.

The House Rules Committee advanced the bill by 8 votes to 4 along party lines, after a hearing lasting more than six hours that began on Tuesday evening. The panel's move sends the legislation to the full House, where lawmakers are expected first to vote on the rule governing debate and then to hold a final vote on Wednesday evening to send the bill to President Donald Trump for his signature.

The House has not voted on legislation since mid-September, and Speaker Mike Johnson has told lawmakers to return to Washington for the vote. People familiar with Republican leaders' thinking told Fox News Digital they believe the bill will pass with nearly all Republicans on board.

What the Senate passed

The Senate broke weeks of deadlock on Monday night, passing the legislation by 60 votes to 40, with eight Democrats joining Republicans to reopen the government. The shutdown began on 1 October after the two parties failed to agree on funding, leaving hundreds of thousands of federal workers unpaid, delaying food aid and disrupting air travel.

The bill would extend most federal funding at current levels through 30 January, giving negotiators more time to agree on full-year spending bills. Funding for military construction, veterans' affairs, the Department of Agriculture and the legislative branch would run through 30 September.

Health subsidies left out

Left out of the deal is an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies that expire at the end of December, a central Democratic demand throughout the shutdown fight. The Rules Committee rejected Democratic amendments, including one from House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who made a surprise appearance at the hearing to argue for extending the subsidies for another three years.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune has promised a Senate vote on extending the subsidies by no later than the second week of December. Speaker Johnson has not committed to holding a similar vote in the House.

Johnson had said earlier on Monday that he would bring the House back into session for a vote by Wednesday at the earliest, with the Rules Committee ready to move by Tuesday. The package also reverses the administration's firing of furloughed federal workers during the shutdown, a provision added to the revised continuing resolution.

If the House passes the bill on Wednesday as expected, the president is likely to sign it the same night, and federal operations would begin reopening within hours, ending a shutdown that has become the longest in US history by about a week.