After 40 days of federal furloughs, grocery-line anxiety and increasingly melodramatic press conferences, the U.S. Senate managed to perform something resembling bipartisan origami: fold a fragile deal that could end the historic shutdown — or at least prop the doors open long enough for everyone to argue about whose fault the coffee stain on the carpet was.
Late Sunday, the Senate voted 60–40 to advance a package that would fund core agencies — like Agriculture, the FDA, Veterans Affairs and military construction — for the full fiscal year, and keep all other agencies limping along on a continuing resolution through Jan. 30, 2026.
“After 40 long days, I’m hopeful we can bring this shutdown to an end,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, summarizing the mood like a man relieved to be allowed to go home for laundry.
How did the sausage get made?
Through the sort of behind-closed-doors deal-making that makes Washington feel like a reality show where no one is eliminated, but everyone is promised a callback!
Top negotiators — including Thune and Senate Democrats Angus King, Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan, plus Appropriations Committee members like Susan Collins — stitched together a framework where Democrats secured the rehiring of federal workers let go at the start of the lapse, back pay for furloughed staff, and a pledge of a mid-December Senate floor vote on legislation to extend expiring Affordable Care Act tax credits.
Democrats also insisted they’d pick the bill for that vote.
But before you uncork the bipartisan champagne, note the fine print: the framework does not guarantee the tax-credit extension will pass — only that there will be a Senate vote in December.
That distinction has progressives and House leaders furious.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren called the decision “a terrible mistake,” while House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries warned his caucus would block any spending bill that doesn’t secure the subsidies.
Jeffries blasted the move as enabling a “Republican taxpayer-funded vacation,” and Sen. Chuck Schumer echoed the frustration: “We asked President Trump to step in and meet with us to deliver lower health care for Americans, and, instead, Donald Trump has taken the American people hostage. …I must vote no.”
The optics were urgent: SNAP distribution was mired in legal confusion, thousands of flights were canceled to relieve overworked and unpaid air-traffic controllers, and constituents were feeling the sting.
Democrats agreed to supply at least eight votes on procedural motions — a guarded handshake — in exchange for the White House’s promise to rehire laid-off workers and a December vote on health-subsidy legislation.
Sen. Tim Kaine said the protections for federal workers and a path “toward fixing Republicans’ health care mess” earned his support.
Kaine and Sen. Katie Britt reportedly hammered out last-minute language to lock in protections against layoffs through the Jan. 30 end date.
Of course, the deal’s path remains littered with potential potholes...
A group of progressives warned they wouldn’t automatically yield the time required to pass the bill, which could stall the reopening for days.
And conservative senators — Rand Paul, Mike Lee, Ron Johnson and Rick Scott — dallied over amendments, hemp language and “overall budget process” grievances.
Paul insists he wants a vote to strip hemp provisions from the minibus and demands guarantees his amendment will pass.
Thune admitted “it remains to be seen” how quickly the Senate can finish the job.
If the Senate clears the package this week and the House follows, the shutdown-ending deal could become law — and federal workers would be rehired with back pay, and core programs stabilized.
If not, the nation will slouch back into a variant of the same standoff, reheating grievances like an overcooked casserole.
Either way, the political theater isn’t over: November’s voters and December’s calendar remain onstage, and the Affordable Care Act tax-credit fight promises to be Act II.
For the moment, the breakthrough is both relief and a reminder: in Washington, a promise to vote is sometimes as good as a vote itself — until it isn’t!
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#EndTheShutdown #BipartisanOrigami #60to40 #RehireFederalWorkers #BackPayNow #ACAVoteInDecember #ThuneSaysHopeful #KaineSupportsWorkers #WarrenSaysNo #SchumerNoVote #RandPaulHoldUp #ProgressivesPushBack #SnapAndFlightsChaos #CongressionalGymnastics #GovernmentByDeadline
Sources: Senate roll-call and procedural votes (60–40 advance vote); statements and floor quotes by Senate Majority Leader John Thune, Sen. Tim Kaine, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer; framework details on funding timelines (full fiscal-year funding for select agencies; continuing resolution through Jan. 30, 2026 for others); negotiation participants Angus King, Jeanne Shaheen, Maggie Hassan, Susan Collins, and mentions of Sens. Rand Paul, Mike Lee, Ron Johnson, Rick Scott, and Sen. Katie Britt as described in reporting on the bipartisan agreement.
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