WASHINGTON: The longest United States government shutdown appeared headed on Monday (Nov 10) to an eventual resolution, after several Democratic senators broke ranks to join Republicans in advancing a compromise deal – sparking intra-party backlash.
Since Oct 1, the first day of the shutdown, more than a million federal workers have been unpaid, while government benefits and services have been increasingly disrupted.
Severe impacts on air traffic have begun to mount in recent days, with hundreds of flights cancelled daily, raising the political pressure to end the stalemate.
After clearing a key procedural hurdle late on Sunday, the Senate was expected to pass the compromise budget late on Monday or overnight.
The Bill will then move to the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, which could vote on it as early as Wednesday to send it to President Donald Trump’s desk.
“It appears to us this morning that our long national nightmare is finally coming to an end, and we’re grateful for that,” House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters on Monday morning.
“At least some Democrats now finally appear ready to do what Republicans and President Trump and millions of hardworking American people have been asking them to do for weeks.”
The House, which Johnson has kept out of session throughout the standoff, would be called back this week, he said.
