WASHINGTON—The U.S. Senate on Sunday appeared poised to move forward with a measure aimed at reopening the federal government and ending a 40-day shutdown that has sidelined federal workers, delayed food aid and snarled air travel.
Senators expect to vote Sunday night on advancing a House-passed bill that will be amended to combine the short-term funding measure, which would fund the government through January 2026, with a package of three full-year appropriations bills.
At least eight Democrats—enough for the measure to clear the Republican-controlled Senate—are expected to support the measure, according to a person familiar with negotiations over the bill.
The amended package would still have to be passed by the House of Representatives and sent to President Donald Trump for his signature, a process that could take several days.
Under a deal struck with a group of Democrats, Republicans would agree to a vote in December on extending subsidies under the Affordable Care Act, the source said. The subsidies have been a Democratic priority during the funding battle.
The resolution would also reverse at least some of the Trump administration’s mass layoffs of federal workers during the shutdown and fund Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits for a year.
The deal was brokered by two New Hampshire Democrats, Senators Maggie Hassan and Jeanne Shaheen, and Angus King, an independent from Maine, the person said. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, the chamber’s top Democrat, said he would vote against the measure.
Sunday marked the 40th day of the shutdown, which has sidelined federal workers and affected food aid, parks and travel, while air traffic control staffing shortages threaten to derail travel during the busy Thanksgiving holiday season late this month.
Senator Thom Tillis, a Republican from North Carolina, said the mounting effects of the shutdown have pushed the chamber toward an agreement.
“Temperatures cool, the atmospheric pressure increases outside and all of a sudden it looks like things will come together,” Tillis told reporters.
Should the government remain closed for much longer, economic growth could turn negative in the fourth quarter, especially if air travel does not return to normal levels by Thanksgiving, White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett warned on the CBS “Face the Nation” show. Thanksgiving falls on November 27 this year.
