The U.S. Senate voted Sunday evening to advance legislation to reopen the federal government after a 40-day shutdown, with eight Democrats joining Republicans to break a filibuster that had stalled funding negotiations for weeks.
The motion to invoke cloture on the House-passed continuing resolution (CR) passed by a 60-40 vote on the Senate floor.
The procedural move allows debate to end and clears the path for final passage of the measure, which would temporarily fund the government while lawmakers continue work on a long-term spending plan.
Senators who voted in favor of advancing the legislation included Democrats and Independents who caucus with them: Angus King of Maine, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Jacky Rosen of Nevada, Tim Kaine of Virginia, and Dick Durbin of Illinois.
The motion succeeded on the Senate’s fifteenth attempt to break the filibuster, marking a turning point in the prolonged stalemate that had left hundreds of thousands of federal employees furloughed and key agencies without funding.
Republicans have indicated that they plan to amend the bill to attach three full-year appropriations measures before sending it back to the House.
The details of those amendments are expected to address defense spending, border security, and domestic programs affected by the shutdown.
CNN drew attention on Sunday night for describing the development as a “Democratic filibuster” that had finally been broken.
The network aired live footage from the Senate floor and stated, “You’re looking live at the Senate floor as the Democratic filibuster has been broken,” in a moment that acknowledged Democratic responsibility for the extended shutdown.
The government shutdown began more than five weeks ago after disagreements between Senate Democrats and House Republicans over healthcare-related provisions in the spending bill.
Democratic leadership had demanded the inclusion of measures to extend Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies that were set to expire at the end of the year.
During negotiations, multiple reports surfaced that Democratic aides privately acknowledged they would continue blocking government funding until the economic impact worsened, with one remark referencing the potential disruption of air travel.
The breakthrough vote on Sunday followed days of mounting pressure on lawmakers as federal workers missed paychecks, national parks faced closures, and air traffic delays increased across major airports.
The Senate is scheduled to reconvene Monday to hold a final vote on the package, which will then move to the House of Representatives for approval.
House Speaker Mike Johnson announced Monday morning that he will recall members to Washington to vote on the amended bill once the Senate completes its work.
“At the very moment that they [Senate] do that final vote I will call all House members to return to Washington as quickly as possible,” Johnson said.
“We’ll give a 36-hour formal and official notice so that we can vote as soon as possible to pass the amended CR bill to get it to the President’s desk.”
Johnson also confirmed that President Donald Trump has been closely monitoring the process and supports swift passage of the funding measure.
“[Trump] is very anxious to get the government reopened,” Johnson said.
The expected final vote comes after one of the longest government shutdowns in U.S. history.
Congressional leaders have indicated that further negotiations will take place to resolve remaining budget differences before the next funding deadline later this year.