Donald Trump says the government is close to ending its longest shutdown. Votes from seven Democrats have made the end of this shutdown possible. They voted late on Sunday, along with the Republican majority, to reopen the federal government.
Senators who voted to end the shutdown include Jeanne Shaheen(New Hampshire), Maggie Hassan(New Hampshire), Tim Kaine(Virginia), Dick Durbin(Illinois), Catherine Cortez Masto(Nevada), Jacky Rosen(Nevada) and John Fetterman(Pennsylvania). In addition, an independent Senator, Angus King of Maine, voted with Republicans.
They reached this deal after a week of negotiations in Washington. This is a first step aiming towards a compromise to fund the government. Amid the shutdown, SNAP benefits lapsed for 42 million Americans. The Supreme Court had to intervene to order the Trump administration to pay full benefits to the people.
Translation: if Dems don’t cave this week, Donald Trump and Republicans are going to turn up the pain level on the American people.
📌 White House economic advisor, Kevin Hassett – “The Schumer shutdown is likely to end sometime this week… if it doesn’t… the White House along… pic.twitter.com/3kIQoV6EI7
— Christopher Webb (@cwebbonline) October 21, 2025
The agreement now heads to the House of Representatives for approval. The Senate will be back for debate again after this first-ever progress in the 40-day government shutdown. The duration has exceeded the 34-day shutdown of Trump’s first term.
Since the shutdown, several government services have come to a halt, including federal employees going on unpaid leave or working without pay. Millions of low-income Americans have been impacted the most.
While passing the bill, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul voted against it, saying it would lead to higher national debt. According to the deal, the healthcare subsidies will be extended, which were going to expire in December.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, before the voting, said, “I’m thankful to be able to say we have senators, both Democrats and Republicans, who are eager to get to work to address that crisis in a bipartisan way.” he also said they have the president who will work on the issue and expects solutions to be brought forward.
President Trump says “we’re getting close” to ending the government shutdown.
The only real macro drag is about to disappear & that’s exactly how you set up a face-melting year-end rally when AI is already doing the heavy lifting.pic.twitter.com/N9y1NiTJXR
— Shay Boloor (@StockSavvyShay) November 10, 2025
Although he did not discuss the exact contents of the bill, the Democrats were frustrated by the lack of transparency. Chuck Schumer, who voted against the bill, stated that the bill does not address the healthcare crisis, which the Democrats have been fighting for over months.
So he had to vote against it. Some of the measures include bills to fund veteran affairs, agriculture and financing the rest of the year. Moreover, the federal workers will receive full pay, and SNAP will be restored until September next year.
