The United States Senate voted 60-40 on Sunday night to advance a bipartisan deal to end the longest government shutdown in American history, after eight members of the Democratic caucus broke ranks to back the measure.

The procedural vote was the first step towards reopening the federal government after a 40-day shutdown that began on 1 October and has left federal workers unpaid, delayed food aid for millions of Americans and snarled air travel across the country. It does not reopen the government by itself: the legislation must still clear further Senate steps and win approval in the House of Representatives before going to President Donald Trump for his signature, a process that could take several days.

Eight Democrats break ranks

The vote passed with the support of seven Democrats and one independent who caucuses with them: Dick Durbin of Illinois, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Maggie Hassan and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Tim Kaine of Virginia, Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen of Nevada, and Angus King of Maine. Fetterman, King and Cortez Masto had already voted with Republicans on earlier attempts to reopen the government.

Senate Democrats had blocked the same House-passed funding bill on 14 previous occasions. The breakthrough came after a group of centrist Democrats negotiated a compromise with Senate Republican colleagues and the White House, under intense pressure as food assistance funding expired on 1 November and staff shortages among air traffic controllers caused major delays at airports.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer voted against advancing the package, along with most of his caucus. Shaheen, who helped craft the agreement, said she understood colleagues were unhappy but argued that waiting would only cause more harm. "I understand that not all of my Democratic colleagues are satisfied with this agreement, but waiting another week or another month wouldn't deliver a better outcome. It would only mean more harm for families in New Hampshire," she said after the vote.

What the deal contains

The package uses a House-passed stopgap bill as its vehicle and combines it with three full-year spending bills and an updated continuing resolution. It would fund military construction, veterans' affairs, the Department of Agriculture and the legislative branch through 30 September 2026, with the rest of the government funded through 30 January.

The deal would also reinstate more than 4,000 federal workers targeted for layoffs during the shutdown, with back pay, and prevent the Trump administration from firing additional federal workers through reductions in force until the temporary funding expires on 30 January. It would also unlock full-year funding for the food aid programme that serves 42 million Americans.

The health care sticking point

On the central sticking point, the deal does not extend the enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies that are due to expire at the end of the year. Senate Majority Leader John Thune committed to holding a Senate vote on extending the subsidies no later than the second week of December, but gave no guarantee that any bill to extend them would pass the Senate or receive a vote in the House.

That omission was the reason most Democrats opposed the package. Senator Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, who took part in the negotiations, said she stepped away when it became clear the deal would not include concrete action on health care. "I always said it's got to do something concrete on health care, and it's hard to see how that happened," she told reporters after a Democratic caucus meeting on Sunday evening.

What happens next

The House of Representatives has not been in session since 19 September. House Speaker Mike Johnson has told lawmakers to return to Washington, with the earliest House vote expected on Wednesday afternoon. The bill advanced through the House Rules Committee overnight, with all Republicans supporting the measure and all Democrats against, and Republican leaders believe it will pass with nearly all Republicans on board.

If the House approves the package, it will go to President Trump for his signature, allowing government operations to resume within hours. Until then, federal workers remain unpaid and the shutdown, already the longest in US history, continues into its sixth week.