Members of the House of Representatives are returning to Washington for a vote that could end the longest shutdown in U.S. history.
With thousands of flights canceled in recent days due to the shutdown, some MPs have chosen other means of travel to the capital. Republican Rep. Derrick Van Orden said he would make the 16-hour drive from his Wisconsin district because air travel was too unreliable.
The Republican-controlled House of Representatives is expected to vote tomorrow afternoon on a compromise that would restore funding for government agencies and end the shutdown that began on Oct. 1. , and House Speaker Mike Johnson has said he expects it to pass the House as well.
President Donald Trump called the deal “very good” and is expected to sign it into law.
Within days, the US federal government could be fully operational again, offering relief to unpaid federal employees and low-income families who depend on benefits for the basics. However, it may take several days for the country’s air transport system to be fully operational.
What about the Democrats?
The deal has divided Democrats, who have been calling for health care provisions for 24 million Americans to be extended beyond the end of the year, when they normally expire. Senate Republicans to take the deal from Democrats agreed to hold a separate vote on the issue in December, but there is no guarantee the extension will pass, and Johnson has not yet said whether the House will hold a vote.
Johnson kept the House closed throughout the suspension, trying to pressure Senate Democrats to end the shutdown.
The liberal base of the Democratic Party reacted with fury, arguing that Senate Democrats had backed away from a battle they were winning.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll in late October found that 50% of Americans blamed Republicans for the shutdown, while 43% blamed Democrats.
What does the agreement provide?
The deal would extend funding through Jan. 30, temporarily keeping the federal government running, which is still adding about $1.8 trillion a year to its $38 trillion debt.
Trump has unilaterally canceled billions of dollars in spending and cut hundreds of thousands of federal government jobs, overriding Congress’s constitutional authority over budget matters.
The deal does not appear to include specific provisions preventing Trump from making further spending cuts.
But the deal temporarily freezes his campaign to shrink the federal workforce, barring him from laying off employees until Jan. 30.
The agreement also ensures that the SNAP food assistance program, which has been disrupted by the shutdown, will continue without interruption through September 30, 2026, the end of the fiscal year.
