House returns for vote to end the government shutdown after nearly 2 months away

House lawmakers are set to return to Washington on Wednesday after nearly eight weeks away, potentially ending the longest federal government shutdown in U.S. history, which has now stretched to 43 days.

The House is scheduled to vote on a bill to reopen the government that passed the Senate on Monday night. President Donald Trump has called the measure a “very big victory,” and it is expected to pass the Republican-led chamber, though travel delays caused by the shutdown itself could complicate attendance for the crucial vote. Speaker Mike Johnson may need near-perfect attendance from fellow Republicans to secure passage.

The House has not been in legislative session since September 19, when it passed a short-term funding patch to keep the government running into the new budget year that began in October. After that vote, Johnson sent lawmakers home, saying House Republicans had done their job and putting pressure on the Senate to act.

Democrats have seized this opportunity to criticize Republicans for going on vacation while federal workers went without paychecks, travelers faced airport delays, and food assistance benefits expired. Johnson defended the absence, stating that members were conducting important work in their districts.

The current breakthrough came when eight Democratic senators broke ranks with their party, concluding that Republicans would not bend on using the measure to extend expiring Affordable Care Act tax credits. As the shutdown’s impacts worsened daily, these senators joined Republicans to advance the compromise legislation.

“After 40 days of wandering in the wilderness and making the American people suffer needlessly, some Senate Democrats finally have stepped forward to end the pain,” Johnson said, adding that “our long national nightmare is finally coming to an end.”

The compromise measure funds three bipartisan annual spending bills and extends the rest of government funding through January 30. Republicans have promised to hold a separate vote on extending the health care subsidies by mid-December, though without any guarantee of success.

“We had reached a point where I think a number of us believed that the shutdown had been very effective in raising the concern about health care,” said Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire. The promise for a future vote “gives us an opportunity to continue to address that going forward.”

The legislation includes several key provisions: it reverses the firing of federal workers that occurred during the shutdown, protects federal employees against further layoffs through January, and guarantees back pay once the government reopens. The Agriculture Department receives full-year funding, ensuring that food assistance programs will continue without interruption through the rest of the budget year.

The package also includes $203.5 million for lawmaker security and an additional $28 million for Supreme Court justice protection. Democrats have criticized language in the bill that would allow senators to sue when a federal agency searches their electronic records without notification – a provision that appears aimed at helping Republican lawmakers pursue damages if their phone records were analyzed by the FBI during investigations into Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.

“We’re going to tattoo that provision, just like we’re going to tattoo the Republican health care crisis, on the foreheads of every single House Republican who dares vote for this bill,” said Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York.

Many Democrats consider the bill’s passage a strategic error. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said he could not “in good faith” support it after extended caucus discussions. Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont called it a “horrific mistake,” while Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut noted that voters who supported Democrats in recent elections were urging them to “hold firm.”

The path forward on health care subsidies remains unclear. Speaker Johnson has not committed to bringing up the promised December Senate vote in the House. Some Republicans have indicated openness to extending the COVID-19-era tax credits with new limitations, such as income caps, as premiums could otherwise skyrocket for millions of Americans.

Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Susan Collins, a Maine Republican, expressed support for extending the credits with modifications. “We do need to act by the end of the year, and that is exactly what the majority leader has promised,” Collins said.

Other Republicans, including Trump, have used the debate to renew longstanding criticism of the Affordable Care Act, calling for its complete overhaul. In a possible preview of the December vote’s outcome, the Senate voted 47-53 along party lines on Monday against extending the subsidies for a year.