Senate passes bill to reopen the government as 8 Democrats join with Republicans to send it to the House.

The Senate passed legislation Monday night to reopen the government and end the record-long shutdown after eight Democrats broke with their party and joined Republicans to break the logjam.

The vote was 60-40, with every Republican except Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky voting in favor of the measure.

The measure now goes to the House, which could vote as early as Wednesday to pass the package and send it to President Donald Trump, who said Monday that he supports the bipartisan deal.

Senate passage came after a long vote series to reject several amendments and package the components of a deal into one.

The legislation includes a "minibus" of three full-year appropriations bills, including a full funding of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits through the end of next September, and keeps much of the government open on a short-term basis through Jan. 30.

But in a major concession for Democrats, the deal does not include an extension of enhanced subsidies under Obamacare, or the Affordable Care Act, after Republicans held firm against extending those funds beyond this year. That means more than 20 million Americans could see their premiums spike next year

The Senate deal with Republicans was struck by Sens. Angus King, I-Maine, Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., and Maggie Hassan, D-N.H. Joining them to support the measure were Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen of Nevada, Dick Durbin of Illinois, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, and Tim Kaine of Virginia.

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., held a conference call with House Republicans on Monday morning and laid out a potential timetable for votes this week after the chamber has been out of session since Sept. 19, according to four sources on the call.

Johnson said he’s hoping to vote as soon as Wednesday on the Senate’s deal to reopen the government. Still, even though the vote timing is fluid, members were encouraged on the call to start getting back to Washington, D.C., as soon as possible given the air travel delays.

While the House vote is expected to be tight and leadership is still in the process of doing a whip check, Johnson expressed confidence that they’d be able to pass the Senate’s government funding package, the sources said.

 


 

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