The bill’s passage marked an end to longest shutdown in US history.
WASHINGTON—The House of Representatives on Nov. 12 passed a legislative package to end the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.
In a 222–209 vote, the House approved the measure around 8:20 p.m. ET. Several Democrats, including Reps. Jared Golden (D-Maine), Adam Gray (D-Calif.), Don Davis (D-N.C.), Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.), and Marie Gluesenkamp-Perez (D-Wash.) voted for the package.
Two Republicans, Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Greg Steube (R-Fla.), voted against the bill.
The same measure was passed by the Senate on Monday with the backing of eight members of the Senate Democratic conference.
The bill heads to President Donald Trump’s desk. He’s due to sign it at 9:45 p.m. ET, which would officially reopen the government after 43 days of closure.
Aside from punting government funding to Jan. 30, 2026, and thereby ending the 43-day shutdown, the measure fully funds three sectors of government, including the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Legislative Branch, through Sept. 30, 2026.
It also includes full-year funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and the subsidiary Women, Infants, and Children program. Funding for these programs has been delayed by the shutdown.
Senate Payout Controversy
Ahead of the vote, many Republicans have joined Democrats in condemning a controversial provision of the bill that allows senators whose phone records were pulled without their knowledge to sue the government.
Specifically, the provision, wrapped into the legislative branch funding bill, would allow senators to sue the government for at least $500,000 when federal law enforcement searches their phone records without notifying them, including in cases where a judge authorized the search.
That measure unnerved many House Republicans, prompting some to suggest they’re prepared to defect over the issue—defections that House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) cannot afford.
After his conference’s frustration with the measure became clear, Johnson promised members that the lower chamber would fast-track standalone legislation to reverse the Senate provision.
The provision at issue relates to subpoenas issued under President Joe Biden, which were related to the investigation into efforts to challenge congressional certification of Biden’s 2020 election victory.
The provision was criticized by Republicans including Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-Va.), who said during a House Rules Committee hearing on the package that he agreed with Democrats’ skepticism about that portion of the text.
Rep. John Rose (R-Tenn.) also spoke against the Senate provision during a speech on the House floor.
He agreed with many other Republicans that Biden’s Department of Justice (DOJ) had overreached in their investigations into the 2020 election and Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol breach, but said the measure was nevertheless inappropriate.
“No elected official should profit from the political calculations of left-wing bureaucrats and judges,” Rose said, adding that it is “shameful” to ask American taxpayers to finance the measure.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Johnson said that he was “surprised” by the Senate bill provision, noting that many in the House “have a strong opinion about it.”
By Joseph Lord and Nathan Worcester
