DEAL TO END US GOV SHUTDOWN CLOSER – Democratic senators broke ranks to join Republicans in a vote over a compromise deal
The US Senate has approved legislation that could end the longest government shutdown in the nation’s history, after several Democratic senators broke ranks to join Republicans in a vote passing a compromise deal.
Donald Trump, the US president, signalled support for the bill on Monday when he announced that “we’re going to be opening up our country very quickly”.
For 41 days, federal food aid has been delayed, travellers have endured lengthy waits at airports or cancelled flights, and hundreds of thousands of federal workers have missed out on pay.
The shutdown could last 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.
Mike Johnson, speaker of the House of Representatives, urged leaders to return to Washington “right now” given shutdown-related travel delays, but an official notice issued after the Senate vote said the earliest the next vote would take place was Wednesday afternoon.
“It appears our long national nightmare is finally coming to an end,” Mr Johnson said.
