Senate passes first stage of new deal

The Senate late Sunday night passed the first stage of a deal that would end the U.S. government shutdown, which began on Oct. 1.

The procedural measure that allows other votes essential to the agreement to be held starting on Monday was approved with the bare minimum of 60 yes votes, after eight senators in the Democratic caucus broke with party leadership to support the deal. Forty senators voted no.

Voting was held open on the Senate floor for more than two hours to allow for the arrival of the final “aye” vote, cast by Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who flew to Washington, D.C., on Sunday evening for the proceeding.

Senators broke into applause when Cornyn walked in to vote for the measure, just before 10:50 p.m. ET.

The agreement, which was reached after round-the-clock negotiations over the weekend, would fund the U.S. government through the end of January.

The deal does not include what had been the key demand for Democrats: an extension of enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credits, which are due to expire at the end of December.

But the agreement, for the first time since the shutdown began, includes a guarantee by Republicans of a vote in December on a bill chosen by Democrats to extend those subsidies, which more than 20 million Americans use to reduce the cost of health insurance plans purchased on ACA marketplaces.

The deal would need to be approved by the House of Representatives and signed into law by President Donald Trump before the shutdown ends.

The deal calls for a reversal of all permanent layoffs of government employees during the shutdown and protection of such so-called reductions-in-force happening until the end of fiscal year 2026.

It also guarantees that all federal workers will be paid their normal salaries during the shutdown, when many of them were not allowed to work.

The package includes provisions for having a bipartisan budget process and preventing the White House from using continuing resolutions to fund the government.

It would also fund, through September, the SNAP program, which helps feed 42 million Americans through food stamps.

The Trump administration last week said that it would not pay SNAP benefits in November because of the shutdown, and on Friday won a temporary order from the Supreme Court blocking a federal judge’s ruling mandating that full SNAP benefits be paid to recipients this month. The administration has said it will pay only partial food stamp benefits.

With Cornyn not on the floor, the vote for more than 25 minutes was stuck at 56 ayes and 40 nays, with three other GOP senators, Rick Scott of Florida, Wisconsin’s Ron Johnson and Mike Lee of Utah, not voting, for unclear reasons.

All three…