The House of Representatives on Wednesday evening approved a stopgap spending measure to reopen the federal government, marking the end of the longest shutdown in U.S. history. The legislation now heads to President Donald Trump, who is expected to sign it later tonight.
The short-term funding bill passed by a narrow margin of 220 to 209, ending a shutdown that began October 1 and left hundreds of thousands of federal employees furloughed or working without pay. The measure will fund the government through January 30 and includes full-year funding for military construction, the legislative branch, and the Agriculture Department through 2026.
Six centrist Democrats joined Republicans in voting for the bill, while two Republicans—Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Greg Steube (R-Fla.)—broke ranks to oppose it.
A Shutdown Marked by Stalemate
The 2025 shutdown began after a partisan impasse over whether to include an extension of enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies, which are set to expire at the end of 2025. Senate Democrats, led by Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), had refused to advance earlier House-passed spending measures unless Republicans agreed to pair them with an ACA subsidy extension.
For weeks, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) rejected that demand, saying his caucus would not negotiate health care policy under a closed government. Meanwhile, President Trump publicly pressured Senate Republicans to eliminate the 60-vote filibuster threshold to allow a GOP-only funding bill to pass—an idea most Senate Republicans opposed.
As the shutdown entered its seventh week, growing political pressure pushed a small group of Senate Democrats to break ranks. Over the weekend, five additional Democrats joined Republicans to advance the funding package, giving it enough support to overcome a filibuster.
Limited Concessions
The final compromise offered little to Democrats seeking health care guarantees. In exchange for reopening the government, Republicans agreed to a few minor provisions, including:
Rehiring furloughed federal employees.
A nonbinding pledge from Thune to hold a vote by mid-December on extending the ACA subsidies.
That pledge, however, does not guarantee sufficient Republican support to pass any such legislation in the Senate, let alone in the GOP-controlled House. According to Thune, roughly 80 to 85 percent of congressional Republicans remain opposed to extending the ACA subsidies “in any fashion, even with reforms like income caps.”
Controversial Senate Provision
The bill also includes a Senate-drafted clause allowing U.S. senators to sue the Justice Department for up to $500,000 if their phone records are seized without notice during federal investigations. The provision was added at Thune’s direction after revelations that special counsel Jack Smith’s team subpoenaed phone data from several senators during its probe into Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
To appease conservative critics, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) promised to introduce a standalone repeal bill targeting that Senate provision next week. But as Representative Greg Steube (R-Fla.) warned before the vote, “That does nothing to change the fact that certain senators will get paid an additional $500k of taxpayer money. The Senate will never take up your ‘standalone’ bill.”
Democratic Backlash
The deal has sparked sharp criticism within Democratic ranks. Many House Democrats are frustrated that a handful of Senate Democrats—most of whom are not up for reelection—agreed to the compromise without securing concrete policy wins.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) filed a discharge petition to force a vote on separate legislation extending the ACA subsidies for three years. Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin said he was “proud of the majority of Senate Democrats who opposed” the deal, while Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) called it “a very, very bad vote.”
Progressive lawmakers have also directed criticism toward Schumer’s leadership. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), a frequent Schumer critic and potential 2028 Senate challenger, told CNN, “We are talking about a coordinated effort of eight senators with the knowledge of Leader Schumer, voting to break with the entire Democratic Party in exchange for nothing.”
Looking Ahead
With the stopgap bill’s passage, federal agencies are set to reopen and resume normal operations within days. Yet the reprieve is temporary. Lawmakers now face a new funding deadline of January 30, giving them less than three months to negotiate a broader budget deal—and to revisit the unresolved question of the ACA subsidies that helped trigger the historic shutdown in the first place.
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