The US Senate passes a funding bill that could end the government shutdown within days
The House must now weigh in on the deal before it can be sent to President Donald Trump to sign
The 41-day shutdown, the longest ever, has left government services temporarily suspended and about 1.4 million federal employees on unpaid leave or working without pay
The shutdown has caused chaos at US airports with more than 7,000 flights delayed and 2,000 cancelled because of staffing shortages
Earlier today, President Trump demanded air traffic controllers who are unpaid during the shutdown to “get back to work”, and threatened to “dock” those who did no.
The announcement of the bill’s passage was made to a largely empty room, but the senators who stayed behind for the end cheered and applauded.
Many had already left to catch flights out of town after working through the weekend.
“We are going to reopen government, we are going to ensure that federal employees … will now receive compensation that they’re earned and deserve,” says Senator Susan Collins, a Republican who played a key role in authoring the bill.
A few others, like Majority Leader John Thune, stayed behind until the end.
Democratic Senators Corey Booker and Jeff Merkley were the last two to vote – each giving a thumbs down to signal their “no” votes.
