The Senate passed a bill to end the 41-day U.S. government shutdown, but it remains closed until the House votes and President Trump signs it.
The US Senate on Monday passed a bill to end the ongoing government shutdown, potentially rolling the ball for the longest-ever government shutdown to come to an end. However, the passing of the legislation does not mean the shutdown ends immediately.
The shutdown of the US government is set to continue for a few more days as a few more steps remain before the government could be reopened. First, the bill needs to pass the US House of Representatives, which is currently in recess. Once the vote is done, it will reach President Donald Trump for his signature. Once Trump signs the bill to keep the government funded till January 2026, the shutdown will officially end.
Therefore, despite the US Senate passing the legislation to reopen the government on Monday, it could take a few more days for the government to reopen, further extending the 41-day shutdown.
The Senate was stuck in a deadlock and kept falling short of the 60 votes required to pass the legislation to keep the government funded. They key dispute between the Democrats and the GOP concerned the extension of the health tax credits, which the Trump-led GOP House refused to acknowledge.
Things changed on Sunday after eight Democrat Senators broke the party line and committed to vote on a new bill to end the shutdown against the promise that a vote on the health tax credit would be conducted in December. On Monday, the bill was passed with 60-40 vote.
When Will The US House of Representatives Vote On The Spending Bill?
The US House of Representatives will have to vote on the spending bill for it to reach the President for approval. The process cannot happen immediately as the House Reps need to return to Washington for the voting.
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As of now, the day when the House could reopen for voting has not been decided. However, US House Speaker Mike Johnson asked the House Representatives to get to Washington to complete the voting as soon as possible. “We have to do this as soon as possible,” Speaker Johnson said.
Notably, Johnson has kept the House out of session since mid-September.
The article originally appeared on Hindustan Times
