Plan to end government shutdown moves forward in Congress

A breakthrough deal to end government shutdown moved forward in Congress Monday and could be enacted by the end of the week as House Speaker Mike Johnson backed the measure that won the support of a group of moderate Democratic senators over the weekend.

Even though President Trump has not announced his support, Johnson called on lawmakers to return to Washington, D.C., as soon as possible to vote on the bill, which would end the shutdown, fund the entire government through January and bankroll some agencies and SNAP food benefits until next fall.

“It appears to us this morning that our long national nightmare is coming to an end, and we’re grateful for that,” Johnson told reporters.

The Senate moved to reopen the government after the longest shutdown in history when a group of moderate Democrats effectively threw in the towel and agreed to end the fight without a guaranteed extension of health care subsidies.

Although the Democratic defectors won some small concessions from GOP leaders, their move angered angered many Democratic lawmakers who say Americans want them to continue the fight over skyrocketing Obamacare premiums.

The deal, which barely squeaked by with the required 60-40 vote margin, does not guarantee the health insurance tax credits will be extended, as Democrats have demanded for almost six weeks.

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-New York), the minority leader, voted against the package, along with the vast majority of his Democratic colleagues, even as some privately expressed relief that the shutdown would end soon.

“We will not give up the fight,” Schumer said.

House Democratic leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries blamed Republicans for the 40-day standoff and vowed to keep Republicans’ feet to the fire on health care costs, a winning issue for Democrats in last week’s off-year election.

“Donald Trump and the Republican Party own the toxic mess they have created in our country and the American people know it,” Jeffries said.

The Senate agreed to vote to advance three bipartisan annual spending bills and extend the rest of government funding until late January in exchange for a vote by mid-December vote on a proposal that will be drafted by Democrats to extend the health care tax credits.

Even if that bill were to pass the Senate, Johnson said he wouldn’t bring it up for a vote in the House unless a majority of Republicans back it, which is unlikely.

The agreement also includes a reversal of the mass firings of federal workers by the Trump administration since the shutdown began on Oct. 1 and would ensure that federal workers receive back pay.

A potential wild card remains Trump, who hasn’t explicitly endorsed the deal.

He did order air traffic controllers to immediately stop calling in sick or taking time off in a post on his social media site that could suggest he expects the shutdown to end imminently.

The government reopening would come as the pain of the shutdown has expanded dramatically in recent days.

With air traffic controllers and airport safety screeners working without paychecks, the air travel system has become increasingly strained with thousands of flights canceled Sunday and Monday.

The Trump administration refused to pay SNAP food benefits to 42 million low-income Americans on Nov. 1 for the first time ever, and resisted court orders to make the payments.

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