Bill to end government shutdown passes the Senate, heads to House next for final vote

The longest government shutdown in U.S. history moved closer to an end Monday after a small group of mostly Senate Democrats struck a deal with Republicans, and a 60-40 vote broke a grueling stalemate that has lasted more than six weeks.

AP – The longest government shutdown in U.S. history moved closer to an end Monday after a small group of mostly Senate Democrats struck a deal with Republicans, and a 60-40 vote broke a grueling stalemate that has lasted more than six weeks.

The shutdown could continue a few more days as members of the House, which has been on recess since mid-September, return to Washington to vote on the legislation.

The legislative package that appears on track to end the shutdown leaves out any clear resolution on the expiring Affordable Care Act tax credits that have made private health insurance less costly for millions of Americans.

The shutdown has caused thousands of flight cancellations and delays as air traffic controllers — unpaid for nearly a month — have stopped showing up, citing the added stress and need to take second jobs.

President Donald Trump ’s administration returned to the Supreme Court on Monday seeking to keep frozen full payments in the SNAP federal food aid program while the government is shut down, even as some U.S. families struggle to put food on the table without that federal assistance.