Lawmakers returned to Washington on Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025, for a House floor vote on a Senate-negotiated continuing resolution intended to end what has been described as the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. The measure would fund the federal government through Jan. 2026 but does not extend expiring Affordable Care Act tax credits, a point that has inflamed House Democrats. The move follows a Senate maneuver in which a bloc of Democrats joined Republicans to advance the package, and it comes amid mounting economic and service disruptions for federal employees and benefit recipients.
Key takeaways
- The House planned a vote on Nov. 12, 2025, on a continuing resolution that would fund the government at current levels through January 2026.
- The Senate-brokered deal does not extend ACA marketplace tax credits; senators who broke with their caucus secured a pledge for a mid-December vote on that extension.
- All House Republicans backed advancing the package except Sen. Rand Paul’s lone dissent in the upper chamber; eight moderate House Democrats also supported moving the measure in committee.
- The resolution includes provisions to protect federal employees: a ban on further mass dismissals until the end of January and guaranteed back pay for furloughed workers.
- Hundreds of thousands of federal workers have missed paychecks; millions risk losing food assistance and marketplace subsidies if credits expire.
- The House Rules Committee advanced the Senate package on a party-line 8-4 vote, setting up the expected full-floor consideration.
- Political fallout has been intense: House Democrats denounced the package as a betrayal, and progressive groups publicly criticized Senate leadership for the compromise.
Background
The shutdown began several weeks earlier amid a standoff over funding priorities and policy riders; by November it was widely labeled the longest in modern U.S. history. Democratic leaders demanded that any stopgap funding extend enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credits enacted during earlier pandemic relief, arguing expiration would sharply raise premiums for millions. Republican leaders refused to include that extension, instead proposing a short-term resolution to reopen most government operations while delaying the subsidy question.
The legislative fracture emerged in the Senate when a splinter group of Democrats joined Republicans to pass the short-term funding plan, prompting fury from the broader Democratic caucus. Progressive organizations and rank-and-file Democrats saw the move as abandoning voters who rely on subsidies; some groups publicly urged Senate leadership to answer for the deal. House Speaker Mike Johnson responded by ordering members back to Washington after a prolonged period in which the chamber had been largely inactive.
Main event
On Tuesday night the House Rules Committee voted 8-4 along party lines to advance the Senate package, clearing it for a full House vote the next day. Committee Democrats used the hearing to register their anger at Republican absence earlier in the standoff; committee chair Virginia Foxx countered by placing blame on Democrats for insisting on the subsidy extension as a condition for reopening the government.
At a Capitol Hill press conference, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Democrats were expected to oppose the package on the floor and unveiled an amendment to extend the ACA tax credits for three years; the amendment failed to survive the rules committee vote. Supporters of the Senate deal argued it would immediately restore operations and secure back pay for furloughed employees while preserving a path to a later vote on subsidies.
In the Senate, the group that split from the Democratic caucus said their vote forced the Republican majority leader to agree to a mid-December vote on the tax-credit extension. Republican leaders in the House were publicly optimistic that the continuing resolution would pass despite tight margins: with a 219-seat majority, Speaker Johnson could lose only two Republican votes and still send the measure to the president for signature.
Former President Donald Trump praised the outcome at a Veterans Day event in Arlington National Cemetery, calling the Senate bill a “very big victory” and saying, “We’re opening up our country.” The political tenor around the vote underscored both the urgency of restoring government services and the intra-party fractures shaping congressional decision-making.
Analysis & implications
Short-term funding through January 2026 would quickly reopen many federal operations and offer back pay that relieves immediate hardship for furloughed workers; that is the measure’s principal practical effect. However, leaving the ACA tax credits unresolved transfers substantial cost risk to households and state insurance markets—if the credits lapse, experts warn many families will face sudden premium hikes or lose marketplace coverage altogether.
Politically, the episode highlights widening fault lines within the Democratic Party between pragmatists willing to break to end the shutdown and progressives demanding policy gains as the price of reopening. For Republicans, securing a short-term resolution without the healthcare extension offers a near-term win but risks electoral and messaging backlash in districts where subsidy expiration would hit constituents’ wallets.
Economically, the prolonged shutdown has already disrupted federal services, slowed enforcement and processing at agencies such as the USDA and VA, and increased uncertainty for businesses—particularly airlines, which have warned of continued travel disruptions. Restoring funding reduces immediate operational strain but does not erase the administrative and economic drag created by weeks without appropriated funds.
Legislative dynamics now hinge on whether Senate leaders follow through with the promised mid-December vote and whether any future compromise will pair subsidy extensions with offsets or other policy changes. If the subsidy question remains unresolved, the dispute will likely resurface as a major flashpoint in end-of-year negotiations and could shape 2026 campaign narratives on healthcare affordability and governance.
Comparison & data
| Shutdown | Length (days) |
|---|---|
| 2018–2019 shutdown (previous record) | 35 |
| 2025 shutdown (current reported length) | 42–50+ |
The 2018–2019 shutdown lasted 35 days and was previously the longest on record. Contemporary reports give varying counts for the current shutdown (media accounts cited day 42 while other statements referenced more than 50 days out of session); regardless, lawmakers and officials agree the duration has exceeded the prior record. The continuing resolution being considered would fund agencies to January 2026 and includes targeted multi-year provisions for veterans’ programs, the USDA and FDA, and legislative branch operations.
Reactions & quotes
“Where the hell have you been?”
Rep. Jim McGovern (House Democrat)
McGovern opened the committee hearing by criticizing Republican lawmakers’ extended absence during the shutdown and framing the vote as a response to that inaction.
“Because of the Republican refusal to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits…healthcare is on the brink of becoming unaffordable.”
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (House Minority Leader)
Jeffries used a Tuesday press conference to condemn the package’s omission of the subsidy extension and to introduce a three-year extension amendment that failed in committee.
“We’re opening up our country…we’re very happy about this very big victory.”
Donald Trump (former president)
At a Veterans Day event, Trump praised the Senate deal and framed the reopening as a political and practical win, underscoring Republican messaging on restoring government operations.
Unconfirmed
- Reported counts of the shutdown’s duration differ in public statements: some accounts cite day 42 while others reference the chamber being out of session for more than 50 days.
- Senators who broke with their caucus said they secured a mid-December vote on extending tax credits; the scheduling and outcome of that vote remain to be seen.
- The extent and permanence of progressive calls for Senate leadership changes—such as demands for Chuck Schumer to resign—are reported but vary by group and have not been independently quantified.
Bottom line
The House vote represents a pragmatic step to restore federal operations and secure back pay for furloughed workers, but it deliberately postpones a consequential policy decision on healthcare subsidies. That postponement shifts economic risk onto millions of marketplace enrollees and sets up a new deadline-driven conflict over affordability and insurance coverage.
Whether the short-term funding eases political pressure depends on follow-through: a genuine mid-December Senate vote on tax credits and any subsequent bipartisan compromise will determine if the deal is a temporary truce or the start of a protracted policy fight heading into next year’s political cycle.
Sources
- The Guardian (news)