USA Possible end to shutdown: US Senate clears first hurdle
For the first time since the beginning of the bitter budget dispute in the USA, Republicans and Democrats have taken a concrete step towards ending the partial government shutdown.
10.11.2025, 05:21
SDA
Late on Sunday evening (local time), the Senate voted with the Democrats in favor of discussing a transition budget originating from the House of Representatives. This means that a first important hurdle in parliament to end the longest shutdown in the history of the United States has been overcome.
However, the political crisis that has been ongoing since the beginning of October is by no means over. And even the deal now being sought - which requires further steps in the Senate and House of Representatives - would ultimately only provide for a transitional budget until January 30, 2026. The dispute could therefore soon flare up again.
Democrats are divided
After a long struggle, the competing political camps in the Senate were able to agree on the key points of a compromise. Almost all Republicans, seven Democrats and one independent representative in the chamber of Congress have now voted in favor of approving the next procedural step needed to reach an agreement. Only one of the 53 Republicans voted no, at least 60 votes were needed in total.
Dozens of Democrats held firm to their veto until the very end. For example, the influential minority leader of the Democrats in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, voted no.
In the end, it was up to Republican Senator John Cornyn from Texas, who waited a long time and only cast his vote after a significant delay. With his vote, the vote reached the necessary 60-vote mark shortly before 23:00 (local time).
Shutdown affects everyday life in the USA
Because both parties in Congress have been unable to agree on a budget, regular government operations have been largely paralyzed since the beginning of October. Many federal employees are currently not receiving a salary, programs to supply low-income households with food are affected, as are processes at airports. There have been thousands of flight cancellations and delays in recent days.
Both camps accuse each other of accepting drastic consequences for the population for political reasons. However, they are keeping a close eye on the public mood. Polls currently show that Americans tend to blame US President Donald Trump and his Republicans for the shutdown. This is another reason why some Democrats in both chambers of parliament cannot understand why some of their party colleagues are accommodating their political rivals.
The bone of contention: health insurance
The current dispute is essentially about whether certain financial subsidies for health insurance should be extended. The Democrats want to prevent costs from rising for millions of people. The Republicans have so far rejected an extension because the expiry of the subsidies is provided for in the major tax law that Trump recently pushed through and is one of his key political projects. Accordingly, his party would be reluctant to give up parts of it just a few months after it was passed.
According to Democratic Senator Tim Kaine, the deal now being sought includes a vote on extending the subsidies for health insurance premiums, which the Democrats had insisted on - but not until December, as reporters from Congress reported.
In addition, it should be ensured that federal employees laid off during the shutdown are reinstated and outstanding salaries are paid retrospectively. Government support for food purchases via the SNAP program ("Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program") is also to be funded until the end of September 2026.
Debate in Congress continues
After the first procedural step, the Senate must now agree on a corresponding package. Once this agreement has been reached, the bill will return to the House of Representatives, where it must also be approved. Depending on resistance in both parties, this process could take days.
The compromise praised by Kaine does provide for a vote on the extension of certain subsidies to reduce health insurance premiums. However, this is no guarantee that they will continue. Democratic Senator Chris Murphy explained on X that it would be a serious mistake to end the shutdown without first ensuring that the aid would actually be maintained.
The minority leader of the Democrats in the House of Representatives, Hakeem Jeffries, had declared before the vote in the Senate that he would not support any legislation that accepted the expiry of the subsidies. Young MP Maxwell Frost described the plan as "unacceptable": without the extension, almost 200,000 people in his constituency would have to pay "50 to 300 percent more for the same or even worse health insurance".
