US president voices support for deal to end 41-day government shutdown

WASHINGTON

US President Donald Trump said Monday that he supports a bipartisan agreement to end the 41-day government shutdown as the Senate Republican leadership seeks a rapid vote on the legislation.

Asked by a reporter if he supports the agreement, Trump said: "I would say so."

"I think based on everything I'm hearing, they haven't changed anything, and we have support from enough Democrats, and we're going to be opening up our country. It's too bad it was closed, but we'll be opening up our country very quickly," he told reporters in the Oval Office.

On Sunday evening, the Senate voted 60-40 to advance the agreement to end the shutdown, which has become the longest in US history. A total of eight Senate Democrats joined Republicans in supporting the measure, which includes a commitment to hold a later vote on extending Affordable Care Act (ACA) health care subsidies and to reinstate federal employees fired by Trump during the shutdown.

The deal does not meet either of the health care demands sought by Democrats, including the ACA subsidy extensions, and a reversal of cuts to Medicaid that were instituted under Trump's sweeping spending bill.

Democratic Whip Dick Durbin broke ranks with the party leadership to back the deal, joining Democratic Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto, John Fetterman, Maggie Hassan, Jeanne Shaheen, Tim Kaine and Jacky Rosen and independent Sen. Angus King.

Republican Sen. Rand Paul cast the lone “no” vote among Republicans.

Final passage of the funding package could still face delays, as any senator has the power to postpone further action for several days under Senate rules, and Paul did just that Monday as he seeks to strip a provision that would prohibit the sale of intoxicating hemp products.

"Just to be clear: I am not delaying this bill. The timing is already fixed under Senate procedure. But there is extraneous language in this package that has nothing to do with reopening the government and would harm Kentucky’s hemp farmers and small businesses," he wrote on the US social media company X’s platform.

The House of Representatives must also reconvene to adopt the Senate deal before it can be sent to Trump’s desk to be signed into law.