The US Senate has moved forward on a measure aimed at reopening the federal government and ending a now 40-day shutdown that has sidelined federal workers, delayed food aid and snarled air travel.
In a procedural vote, senators advanced a House-passed bill that will be amended to fund the government until 30 January and include a package of three full-year appropriations bills.
If the Senate eventually passes the bill, the package still must be approved by the House of Representatives and sent to President Donald Trump for his signature, a process that could take several days.
Under a deal struck with a handful of Democrats who rebuffed their party's leadership, Republicans agreed to a vote in December on extending subsidies under the Affordable Care Act, a person familiar with the negotiations said.
The subsidies, which help lower-income Americans pay for private health insurance and are due to expire at the end of the year, have been a Democratic priority during the funding battle.
The vote to advance the bill passed by a 60-40 margin, the minimum needed to overcome a Senate filibuster.
US Senate advances bill to end federal shutdown
"It looks like we’re getting very close to the shutdown ending," Mr Trump told reporters at the White House prior to the vote.
The bill would prohibit federal agencies from firing employees until 30 January, a win for federal worker unions and their allies. It would stall Mr Trump’s campaign to downsize the federal workforce.
Some 2.2 million civilians worked for the federal government at the start of Mr Trump’s second term, according to federal records.
At least 300,000 employees are expected to leave the government by the end of this year due to Mr Trump’s downsizing effort.
It would also provide back pay for all federal employees, including members of the military, Border Patrol agents, and air-traffic controllers.
The deal was brokered by two New Hampshire Democrats, Senators Maggie Hassan and Jeanne Shaheen, and Angus King, an independent from Maine, the person said.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, the chamber's top Democrat, voted against the measure.
"For over a month, I’ve made clear that my priorities are to both reopen government and extend the ACA enhanced premium tax credits. This is our best path toward accomplishing both of these goals," Ms Shaheen posted on X.
Many Democrats watched the deal unfold with displeasure.
"Senator Schumer is no longer effective and should be replaced," wrote US Representative Ro Khanna on X.
"If you can’t lead the fight to stop healthcare premiums from skyrocketing for Americans, what will you fight for?"
Yesterday marked the 40th day of the shutdown, which has sidelined federal workers and affected food aid, parks and travel, while air traffic control staffing shortages threaten to derail travel during the busy Thanksgiving holiday season late this month.
Senator Thom Tillis, a Republican from North Carolina, said the mounting effects of the shutdown pushed the chamber toward an agreement.
"Temperatures cool, the atmospheric pressure increases outside and all of a sudden it looks like things will come together," Mr Tillis told reporters.
Should the government remain closed for much longer, economic growth could turn negative in the fourth quarter, especially if air travel does not return to normal levels by Thanksgiving, White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett warned on the CBS "Face the Nation" show.
Thanksgiving falls on 27 November this year.
The wrangling on Capitol Hill came as Mr Trump again pushed to replace subsidies for the Affordable Care Act's health insurance marketplaces with direct payments to individuals.
The subsidies, which helped double ACA enrolment to 24 million since they were put in place in 2021, are at the heart of the shutdown.
Republicans have maintained they are open to addressing the issue only after government funding is restored.
Mr Trump took to his Truth Social platform to blast the subsidies as a "windfall for Health Insurance Companies, and a DISASTER for the American people," while demanding the funds be sent directly to individuals to buy coverage on their own.
"I stand ready to work with both Parties to solve this problem once the Government is open," he wrote.
Americans shopping for 2026 Obamacare health insurance plans are facing a more than doubling of monthly premiums on average, health experts estimate, with the pandemic-era subsidies due to expire at the end of the year.
The ACA enrolment period, however, runs through to 15 January, which would allow time for a legislative effort to extend the credits for next year.
According to lawmakers, the bill would restore funding for the SNAP food stamp programme which helps more than 42 million lower-income Americans pay for groceries.
Earlier yesterday, US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said that if the shutdown continued, the number of flights being snarled or cut would multiply while Americans gear up to travel for the Thanksgiving holiday later this month.
By yesterday evening, the number of cancellations of flights within the United States and to and from the US had surpassed 2,700, with nearly 10,000 delays, according to data from tracking platform FlightAware.
Airports that were particularly hard hit included the three New York City area airports, Chicago's O'Hare, and Hartsfield-Jackson in Atlanta.
Newark's Liberty International Airport - a major northeastern US hub - was among the worst-hit.
At New York's LaGuardia Airport more than half of all outbound flights were delayed.
It could take days for flight schedules to recover after the shutdown is finally ended, and federal funding - including salaries - starts to flow again.
Yesterday marked the third day of flight reductions at airports in the US, after the Trump administration ordered reductions to ease strain on air traffic controllers working without pay.
