Speaker Mike Johnson said Monday that House lawmakers should start returning to Washington "right now" after a small group of Senate Democrats broke a 40-day stalemate late Sunday evening and voted with Republicans to move forward with legislation that would end the government shutdown. It is unclear when the Senate will hold final votes on the legislation. But Johnson said the "nightmare is finally coming to an end" after the Senate voted 60-40 to consider a compromise bill to fund the government, the AP reports.
"We have to do this as quickly as possible," Johnson said at a news conference. He has kept the House out of session since mid-September, when the House passed a bill to continue government funding. After weeks of negotiations, the group of Senate Democrats agreed to reopen the government without a guaranteed extension of health care subsidies, angering many in their caucus who have demanded for more than six weeks that Republicans negotiate with them on the Affordable Care Act tax credits that expire Jan. 1. Senate Majority Leader John Thune promised a mid-December vote on the subsidies, but there was no guarantee of success.
On Monday, Thune said he hopes final passage of the Senate bill will be "hours not days." "The American people have suffered for long enough. Let's not pointlessly drag this bill out," he said. The Washington Post notes that the bill, which extends government funding until late January and reverses the mass firings of federal workers, has a "narrow" path forward in the House—most House Democrats are expected to vote against it and if they all do, Republicans can only afford to lose two votes. Sources tell Politico that Johnson aims to hold a vote on the package as soon as Wednesday.
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