The longest government shutdown in U.S. history came to an end Wednesday night after 43 days. House Republicans and a handful of House Democrats passed a new continuing resolution (CR) in a largely party-line 222-209 vote.
Wednesday’s vote followed a late-night Senate vote on Sunday, during which a group of Senate Democrats broke ranks with their party, caving on their demand for extended Obamacare subsidies, and joined a Senate deal to reopen the government.
Six House Democrats — Reps. Jared Golden (D-ME), Adam Gray (D-CA), Don Davis (D-NC), Henry Cuellar (D-TX), Tom Suozzi (D-NY) and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA) — and two House Republicans — Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Greg Steube (R-FL) — broke with their caucus on the vote.
The bill will now go to President Donald Trump’s desk, who is expected to sign it and make it official Wednesday night.
The new CR will fund the federal government until Jan. 30 alongside an Agriculture-FDA, Military Construction-Veterans Affairs and Legislative Branch minibus. The minibus would keep SNAP funded through Sept. 30, 2026 and also includes a reversal of federal employee layoffs that the Trump administration executed during the shutdown, a move the administration openly cast as an effort to gain leverage in shutdown negotiations.
The new CR, and the end of the shut down, removes much of Democrats’ leverage in their fight to protect expiring Obamacare subsidies and to prevent significant premium hikes for millions of Americans. The bipartisan deal includes a promise that Senate Democrats will get a floor vote on a bill of their choice before the end of the year. That promise, of course, will not guarantee that the Affordable Care Act bill will pass the Sentate or, if it did, that the House would take up the bill. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has already said he would not make a promise to bring a Democratic ACA bill to the floor.
Nothing in the deal would force Trump and the OMB to spend congressionally appropriated funds in the way the legislation requires — which was a Democratic demand at the beginning of the shutdown. Trump and Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought have repeatedly refused to spend congressionally appropriated funds or strong-armed Republican legislators into “rescinding” funding they dislike.
Sens. Angus King (I-ME), John Fetterman (D-PA), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) voted in favor of the continuing resolution (CR) following a bipartisan deal, making Wednesday’s House vote possible
Senate Republicans were largely on board with the deal. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), who has been voting “no” on the GOP CR for weeks, was the sole Republican who broke from his caucus.
Where do we go from here?
What’s next?
Another evening of aurora. May as well have something Congress can’t screw up or revoke.
If the shutdown ended when Democrats changed their votes, Democrats must be responsible for the shutdown.
Beautiful picture. It is cloudy and wet where I am so no Aurora for us tonight.
I think Bill Pulte’s sin was saying the quiet part out loud. The oligarchs around Trump, including foreign powers that are heavily invested in the US, see the immiseration of a large swath of the American population as a given now. It is not enough that the net worth of 50% of Americans is $1 or less apparently. Most young people have been priced out of home ownership, and the costs of owning ever more burdensome. Many even have student debt to deal with. None of the world’s top three countries in terms of population (India, China and the US) are delivering security or stability, and in all three cases the political recipes offered call for greater maldistribution of wealth (like the US and China, India, which claims a low gini number, still has 1% of its population holding 40% of the wealth).
Someone needs to wipe that smug look off that assholes face. I think a good kneecapping is in order… where’s the Red Brigade when you need them.