Senate Passes Funding Bill to End Schumer Shutdown

The Senate passed a continuing resolution (CR) to reopen the government Monday night, 40 days after Democrats triggered what is now the longest government shutdown in history.

The vote ends a disastrous shutdown for Democrats, but the civil war for the soul and direction of the party is just beginning.

The vote was 60-40. Only a majority was necessary.

Senators reached a time agreement Monday evening to bypass Senate procedures that would have prolonged the passage of the bill by as long as several days.

Despite the tough talk from many Senate Democrats condemning their colleagues’ Sunday night cave to end the shutdown, not one objected to the unanimous consent agreement to speed the end of the shutdown.

The fold likely reinforces the convictions held by many voters on the Left that Washington Democrats are giving them mere lip service and threatens Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-NY) continued hold on his leadership position.

The CR extends government funding through January 30, 2026, and includes three (of twelve) full-year appropriations bills. Additionally, as Breitbart News reported:

The agreement includes back pay for federal employees and guarantees that the 4,000-plus federal employees laid off during the shutdown will be rehired, as well as a blanket prohibition on future reductions in force through January 30. Those jobs are a drop in the bucket compared to the 250,000 or so the Trump administration eliminated before the shutdown.

Most significantly, the agreement does not guarantee an extension of Covid-era enhanced Obamacare premium subsidies, with Democrats only receiving assurances of a vote on a bill of their choice.

“As I have said for weeks to my Democrat friends, I will schedule a vote on their proposal, and I have committed to having that vote no later than the second week in December,” Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said on the Senate floor before the vote.

The bill now makes its way to the House, which is likely to vote on the bill Wednesday. Early Monday morning, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) summoned his members back to Washington ahead of an expected midweek vote.

House Democrat Leadership formally announced it would whip its members to oppose the bill, although some Democrats — including retiring Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME), who voted for the House-passed CR in September, which the Senate later amended — are expected to support the bill.

With the shutdown headed for a conclusion, Democrats are certain to continue making the enhanced Obamacare subsidies a messaging priority. Open enrollment for Obamacare is underway, and the enhanced subsidies are set to expire at the end of the year.

But if the past several weeks are an indication, Democrats will have trouble staying together and on message. And if the ascendant radicals in the party are not assuaged, many Democrats will not survive beyond the midterm elections.

Bradley Jaye is Deputy Political Editor for Breitbart News. Follow him on X/Twitter and Instagram @BradleyAJaye.