The US Senate approves government funding, first step toward ending longest shutdown

The US Senate voted on the evening of November 9th for a bill to reopen the federal government.

CNN and Politico write about this.

The government funding bill was supported by 60 senators, 40 voted against.

The Senate has failed 14 previous times to pass a vote that could have ended the month-long government shutdown. A bill needs at least 60 votes to pass.

The vote came after eight Senate Democrats reached a deal with Republican leaders and the White House to reopen the government, promising to continue health care subsidies for Americans in exchange.

Now the bill must be approved by the House of Representatives and signed by the US President — then the shutdown will end.

The longest shutdown in US history

The current shutdown — a partial shutdown of federal agencies — has become the longest in US history. It has been going on for 41 days.

The previous shutdown record also belonged to the Administration of US President Donald Trump, when it lasted 34 days: from December 2018 to January 2019. But this time Trump showed no interest in negotiations with Democrats.

All the messages from the White House are simple: either Democrats back down on their demand to extend health care subsidies, or the consequences of the government shutdown will worsen.

Against this backdrop, US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned that he could force airlines to cut up to 20% of flights if the government shutdown does not end.

And Axios wrote that due to the government shutdown, the US postponed arms exports worth over $5 billion to support NATO allies and Ukraine.

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