US Senate advances plan to end historic shutdown in bipartisan breakthrough

The US Senate has voted to break the shutdown stalemate Sunday, paving the way for the government to reopen as soon as later this week, Report informs via Politico.

The 60-40 vote to take the first step toward reopening agencies came hours after an agreement was reached between members of the Senate Democratic Caucus, including Sens. Angus King, Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan, as well as Republicans including Senate Majority Leader John Thune and members of the Senate Appropriations Committee including Chair Susan Collins.

In the end, eight members of the Senate Democratic Caucus voted to advance the House-passed stopgap, which is being used as a vehicle for the larger funding deal.

The Sunday vote would pave the way for consideration later this week of a legislative package that would fund the Department of Agriculture and the FDA, the Department of Veterans Affairs and military construction projects, and the operations of Congress for the full fiscal year - the product of months of bipartisan, bicameral negotiations between top appropriators.

All other agencies would be funded through Jan. 30, according to the text of a continuing resolution released Sunday. The agreement still needs to pass the House before the government can be reopened.

"After 40 long days, I'm hopeful we can bring this shutdown to an end," Thune said shortly before the vote.

The breakthrough came 40 days into the shutdown and as the consequences were quickly becoming more dire - from legal confusion over the disbursement of SNAP food assistance to the decision to cancel thousands of flights out of major airports to relieve overworked and unpaid air traffic controllers.

As part of the deal, Democratic negotiators agreed to ensure at least eight members from their caucus would approve procedural motions to advance the government funding package. There are still additional steps before the Senate can pass the funding deal, but Sunday's vote sent a strong signal that Senate GOP leaders now have the necessary support in their chamber to pass legislation to end the longest shutdown in history.

Progressives, however, are privately warning they will not yield back time to speed up a final passage vote, an act of resistance that could delay the shutdown several more days. Leaders are also watching Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who has threatened to hold up passage due to a policy dispute. The Senate, however, is expected to leave for a previously scheduled weeklong recess as soon as it can clear the funding package for the House, which could incentivize lawmakers not to hold up the process.