On Sunday evening, eight senators broke from the Democratic Party and joined Republicans in voting for legislation that could see the end of the longest government shutdown in United States history.

In a 60-40 vote, the Senate voted to advance legislation to debate. But, the government shutdown is far from over.

If the Senate passes the bill, a spending measure that had fostered contention between Democratic and Republican senators, in a final vote following debate, it still has to be approved by the House and signed by President Donald Trump.

The voting of this legislation signaled a break within the Democratic Party, with the group of moderate senators who voted with Republicans including Angus King of Maine, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, Tim Kaine of Virginia, Dick Durbin of Illinois, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada and Jacky Rosen of Nevada. The Sunday vote occurred without Democrats receiving extensions of healthcare subsidies soon to expire by the end of the year.

The eight senators said they wanted to alleviate the suffering of Americans as a result of the government shutdown and that Senate Majority Leader John Thune promised Democrats at least a vote on health care subsidies by December. Any legislation regarding health care provisions will face opposition in a Republican-majority Congress, who has followed President Trump’s lead against the Affordable Care Act.

“We must extend the A.C.A enhanced premium tax credit,” said Sen. Masto in an official statement. “But, that can’t come at the expense of millions of Americans across the country impacted by a shutdown.”

As the government shutdown lengthened, its consequences went beyond federal works missing pay for weeks. The halt in SNAP benefits on behalf of legal battles by the Trump administration and cancellations in air travel nationwide came at the cost of millions of Americans.

But, the Democrats did harness a few wins in the Senate deal, including provisions that would restore jobs of thousands of federal workers who were laid off during the shutdown and pay thousands of other workers whose pay was temporarily paused. With the negotiation of the moderate senators, the Government Accountability Office also remained protected with this legislation.

Every Democratic senator who is running for re-election in 2026 voted against the Senate deal. Senators Durbin and Shaheen are set to retire and Senators Fetterman, Masto and Hassan are not subject to re-election until 2028. Senators Kaine, Rosen and King are not up for re-election until 2030.