BREAKING: Senate Dems finally agree to terms to end government shutdown: report

Senate Democrats have reached an agreement with Republicans to reopen the federal government. A vote is expected later on Sunday night to advance the House-passed continuing budget resolution.

There are enough Democratic senators who will vote alongside Republicans to push forward a stopgap measure extending government funding through the end of January, tied to a larger package to fully fund several key agencies, Politico reports.

As part of the package, those federal employees who were laid off after the government shut down will get their jobs back along with backpay. This includes air traffic controllers, TSA workers, and others on the federal government's payroll.

On Sunday, the Senate finalized a three-bill package of funding for veterans programs, food aid, and certain government agencies. The bills were part of a tentative agreement that had been discussed by senators of both parties for weeks. "All other agencies would be funded through Jan. 30," Politico reports. 

A previous report by CNN revealed that the package would allocate $203.5 million in new funding to bolster security and protection for members of Congress, as well as $852 million for the Capitol Police, according to details described by top Democratic appropriator Senator Patty Murray.

The agreement is not expected to include an extension of the expiring enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies, which was a key demand among Democrats. However, Republicans would guarantee a vote in the Senate on the issue at a later time.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune promised that a vote on those subsidies would happen in December, which is still during the open enrollment period for the ACA. It will be Democrats who decide what bill for that extension comes to the floor for a vote.

Democrats reportedly acknowledged that President Donald Trump’s strong opposition to extending the subsidies makes a bipartisan agreement on that issue unlikely, leading some to accept a standalone vote as a compromise to resolve the shutdown.

After being passed by the Senate, the revised measure will return to the House for final approval before heading to President Trump’s desk to be signed into law, officially ending the government shutdown.

A previous report by Politico found that House Democratic leadership has known about the deal and is deeply unhappy with it. “We’re very aware that eventually House Democrats are just going to get rolled,” a source close to senior House Democrats told the outlet.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries reportedly opposes the plan, saying in a statement "We will not support spending legislation advanced by Senate Republicans that fails to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits. We will fight the GOP bill in the House of Representatives, where Mike Johnson will be compelled to end the seven week Republican taxpayer-funded vacation."

Johnson has not offered a vote on ACA subsidy extensions. Those subsidies were first enacted as part of Covid relief under the Biden administration's America's Rescue Plan Act. They were then extended as part of what that administration called the largest climate bill ever passed, the Inflation Reduction Act. That act extended the subsidies through 2025 and also eliminated income eligibility caps, resulting in another 14 million people signing up for the ACA.