The Senate passed the long-awaited funding package that would end the government shutdown, bringing Congress one step closer to resolving the deadlock that has paralyzed Washington for 41 days and sown chaos across the country. The legislation now goes to the House of Representatives for approval. The agreement was backed by eight Democrats to temporarily fund the federal government and allow it to reopen, in a move that moves closer to officially ending the longest shutdown in the country's history. After weeks of negotiations, moderate Senate Democrats agreed to reopen the government without a guaranteed extension of healthcare subsidies, infuriating many of their members who demanded that Republicans negotiate with them on the Affordable Care Act tax credits that expire on January 1. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, of the Republican Social Democratic Party (RSD), promised a vote on the subsidies in mid-December, but there was no guarantee of success. The eight Democrats who broke with their bloc and allowed the package to move forward were: Catherine Cortez Masto, Jacky Rosen, John Fetterman, Maggie Hassan, Jeanne Shaheen, Tim Kaine, Dick Durbin, and independent Angus King. The Democratic split was described as “frustrating” by Arizona Senator Ruben Gallego, who said that 24 million people would be affected. of Americans who will potentially see their premiums increase,” because the approved agreement does not guarantee the extension of subsidies to health programs like Obamacare, which expires at the end of this year.

For their part, Republicans celebrated the agreements. Conservative Lindsey Graham told reporters that “the president is in favor. If the president is in favor, I think it will pass in the House of Representatives. I think it’s a good deal for the country.”

After the vote,American attention will turn to the House of Representatives and its Speaker, Republican Mike Johnson, who has already summoned House members to return to Washington by Wednesday, after having returned to their districts in mid-September. Following the Senate's passage of a government reopening funding bill, Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Joe Gruters asserted that Democrats held the healthcare issue hostage. “For nearly six weeks, Republicans voted to deliver paychecks and food assistance to working Americans, while Democrats like Jon Ossoff held the government hostage over healthcare for undocumented immigrants,” Gruters declared. “Now, after weeks of hardship they could have avoided, a handful of Democrats are being forced to accept the very deal they rejected a month ago, triggering a deep internal crisis within their own party. From the outset, the Speaker Trump and Republican senators fought to end this shutdown and minimize its consequences. Democrats only relented when their own chaos forced American families to pay the price.