(MENAFN- Live Mint) The Senate approved a bill to end the longest government shutdown in history, with some Democrats agreeing to a deal with Republicans. The 41-day shutdown may extend slightly longer, as members of the House have been on recess since mid-September, according to AP.

US President Donald Trump has indicated support for the bill, stating on Monday that“we're going to be opening up our country very quickly.”

The final Senate vote of 60-40 is expected to end the government shutdown, during which Democrats insisted that Republicans negotiate to extend health care tax credits set to expire on January 1.

The Republicans did not negotiate, while five moderate Democrats eventually switched their votes amid delays in food aid, and worsening airport delays continued, with hundreds of thousands of federal workers remaining unpaid.

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Following the vote, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., expressed gratitude to the unpaid staff and Capitol Police who stood nearby on the floor. He acknowledged that the stress had been significant for“six excruciating weeks.”

“I am very, very happy to be able to say we are coming to the end,” the report quoted Thune.

House Speaker Mike Johnson called on lawmakers to begin returning to Washington immediately due to travel delays caused by the shutdown. "We must do this as quickly as possible," Johnson stated. He has kept the House out of session since mid-September, when the House approved a bill to extend government funding.

How did the deadlock end?

A group consisting of three former governors, Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan from New Hampshire, along with Independent Senator Angus King of Maine, agreed to support three bipartisan annual spending bills. This decision comes weeks after negotiations to extend government funding until late January.

Shaheen said Monday that“this was the option on the table” after Republicans had refused to negotiate.

“We had reached a point where I think a number of us believed that the shutdown had been very effective in raising the concern about health care," she said, and the promise for a future vote“gives us an opportunity to continue to address that going forward."

The moderates anticipated more Democrats would join them, as 10 to 12 Democratic senators had participated in negotiations. However, ultimately, only five changed their votes, precisely the number Republicans required. King, Cortez Masto, and Fetterman had already been voting to open the government since October 1.

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Schumer, who faced criticism from his party in March for voting to keep the government open, stated he could no longer support it 'in good faith' after a more than two-hour meeting with his caucus on Sunday.

“We will not give up the fight,” the report quoted Schumer and added that Democrats have now“sounded the alarm” on health care.

Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy stated that“we could have won," emphasising that giving up would only strengthen Trump's position. He expressed confidence that voters support their cause, citing the Democrats' decisive victories in last week's elections.

“We were building momentum to help save our democracy,” Murphy was quoted as saying, while Independent Senator Bernie Sanders said that finalising deal was“a horrific mistake.”

However, it remains uncertain whether the two parties will reach an agreement on healthcare subsidies before the scheduled December vote in the Senate.

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