USA End of shutdown more likely: US Senate approves budget
An end to the partial government shutdown in the USA is becoming more likely. After almost six weeks of deadlock, the US Senate has passed a stopgap budget for the period until the end of January.
11.11.2025, 03:54
SDA
60 senators voted in favor of a corresponding proposal late Monday evening (local time), while 40 voted against. This means that the longest shutdown in US history is about to come to an end. However, further decisions are still needed in the coming days for the budget to come into force and for government employees to be paid again.
What needs to happen now for the shutdown to really end?
Two important steps are still missing. Firstly, the House of Representatives, the second chamber of the US parliament, still has to give its approval. US President Donald Trump's Republicans have a narrow majority there. So far, only a few dissenters have publicly announced a rejection, so it currently looks as if the package is not at risk in the chamber of Congress. Trump will then have to sign off on the whole thing, which is likely to be a mere formality. The interim budget will then come into force. This could happen in the course of the week.
Why does the US budget dispute exist at all?
The federal budget in the USA has to be approved by both chambers of the US Congress, i.e. the House of Representatives and the Senate. The budget is used, for example, to pay for government employees, the military and support for the needy. Trump's Republicans have been arguing bitterly with the Democrats for weeks over the new budget. There has been no US budget since October 1 and no money has been flowing. This marked the beginning of the shutdown, the partial standstill of government business.
Trump's party has a narrow majority in both chambers of parliament. In the Senate, the Republicans have 53 out of 100 senators. However, for the budget decision to be put to the vote, a resolution was needed from at least 60 senators and therefore also votes from the Democrats, who refused to vote. Things finally started to move at the weekend, with some Democrats giving in.
What are the consequences of the blockade?
One example: some ground staff at airports and air traffic controllers were no longer paid. There were staff shortages because, according to the US government, people were looking for second jobs and not coming to work - resulting in thousands of flight cancellations. Another example: the budget is used to pay for food aid for more than 40 million Americans - one in eight people in the United States is dependent on this support. The money is booked to debit cards for this purpose. However, people were no longer able to go shopping because no money was transferred.
Is the budget now a thing of the past?
No, after the budget is before the budget: the transitional budget that is now being pushed forward will only apply until the end of January. The actual budget still has to be passed by then, which is likely to be hotly contested again. Otherwise, the country will be at the same point again from February: without a budget, the government would once again come to a standstill.
Who will emerge stronger from the dispute?
That is unclear for the time being: in polls, a majority of Americans have generally blamed the ruling Republicans for the negative consequences of the shutdown. However, the fact that some Democrats in the Senate have now given in without achieving binding improvements on the contentious issue of health insurance is infuriating the party base. There is now a threat of a dispute over direction and personnel in the opposition. The Democratic minority leader in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, is also under particular criticism.
