The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday night passed a Senate-approved spending package, ending the congressional deadlock that led to the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.

The House voted 222-209 to pass the deal, two days after the Senate voted 60-40 to approve the spending package. The legislation now goes to President Donald Trump, who is expected to sign it soon.

The full financial toll of the shutdown has yet to be determined, although the Congressional Budget Office estimates that it has caused $14 billion in lost growth.

What the package brings

The package would fund most federal agencies at current levels through January 30, while providing full fiscal year funding for the Agriculture Department, the Veterans Affairs Department and military construction projects, and the operations of Congress as well as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, whose funding was put in jeopardy amid the prolonged government shutdown.

The latest measure rescinds layoffs implemented by federal agencies since the government shutdown began on October 1 and prohibits any further reductions in force before the expiration of the continuing resolution on January 30.

The bill also provides back pay to all federal employees who did not receive pay during the shutdown. Although providing back pay after a shutdown is standard practice, Trump has warned that furloughed federal employees may not receive such payments.

As part of Democrats' agreement to end the shutdown, Senate Majority Leader John Thune promised Senate Democrats a vote "no later than the second week in December" to enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies.

This package covers only three of the 12 annual appropriations bills Congress must pass each year, leaving nine bills to be finalized.

During the period when the temporary funding measure is in effect, both parties will continue negotiating the remaining appropriations, meaning the U.S. government could face another potential shutdown in just over two months.

'Not backing away'

House Speaker Mike Johnson and his Republicans had almost no room for error as their majority is down to two votes.

Democratic leadership – furious over what they see as their Senate colleagues folding – had urged members to vote no and all but a handful held the line.

For more than five weeks, Democrats held firm on refusing to reopen the government unless Trump agreed to extend pandemic-era tax credits that made health insurance affordable for millions of Americans. Election victories in multiple states last week gave Democrats further encouragement and a reinvigorated sense of purpose.

But a group of eight Senate moderates broke ranks to cut a deal with Republicans that offers a vote in the upper chamber on health care subsidies – but no floor time in the House and no guarantee of action.

Democrats are now deep in a painful reckoning over how their tough stance crumbled without any notable win. Democratic leadership is arguing that while their health care demands went largely unheard, they were able to shine the spotlight on an issue they hope will power them to victory in the 2026 midterm elections.

"Over the last several weeks, we have elevated successfully the issue of the Republican health care crisis, and we're not backing away from it," House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told MSNBC. But his Senate counterpart Chuck Schumer is facing a backlash from the fractious progressive base for failing to keep his members unified, with a handful of House Democrats calling for his head.

Outside Washington, some of the party's hottest prospects for the 2028 presidential nomination added their own voices to the chorus of opprobrium. California Governor Gavin Newsom called the agreement "pathetic," while his Illinois counterpart JB Pritzker said it amounted to an "empty promise." Former transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg called it a "bad deal."

(With input from agencies)