House of Representatives set to vote to end budget shutdown

(Washington) The budgetary paralysis in the United States comes to an end on Wednesday with the expected adoption of a bill in Congress, after six weeks of shutdown which have disrupted many parts of the economy and left a bitter taste in the Democratic opposition.

A vote in the House of Representatives is expected to take place after 7 p.m. (7 p.m. Eastern time Wednesday) on this budget text already approved by the Senate. The Republicans are in the majority in the lower house, and despite the stated opposition of the Democratic group, the bill should be adopted.

Only the presidential signature would remain to raise the longest shutdown of the country, started on 1^er october.

After more than 40 days of budget impasse, eight Democratic senators finally surrendered on Monday by approving with their Republican colleagues a new bill, which extends the previous budget until the end of January.

The text, however, leaves unclear the extension of subsidies for “Obamacare”, health insurance for low-income households, to the great dismay of the base and many elected Democrats.

Among the only concessions to the opposition, the text provides for the reinstatement of civil servants dismissed since the start of the shutdown.

It also includes funds for the SNAP food assistance program until September, thus preventing this aid, which benefits more than 42 million Americans, from being frozen in the event of another budgetary paralysis at the end of January, as was the case during the current blockage.

” Treason ”

“Our long national nightmare is finally coming to an end,” rejoiced the Republican leader of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson. Donald Trump congratulated him Tuesday – as did Senate Majority Leader John Thune – on their “very big victory.”

Eight votes from opposition senators were needed to adopt the text, even if the Republicans are in the majority. And the eight who voted for it drew the wrath of many members of the Democratic camp, who denounce meager concessions and false Republican promises.

The governor of California, Gavin Newsom, thus lamented on X a “capitulation” and a “betrayal” towards working America.

Many Democrats also wondered why these senators gave in just days after their party’s large victories in important elections across the country, which they said validated their strategy in Congress.

The controversy mainly targets Chuck Schumer, leader of the Democrats in the Senate. If he voted against the text on Monday, he is suspected by many elected officials and Democratic supporters of having pushed behind the scenes for an agreement.

“Only words”

Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, for his part, urged Republicans to keep their commitment to soon hold a vote in Congress to extend Obamacare subsidies.

“Now we will have to see if there will be actions or if it was just words,” he said on CNN.

The question of these subsidies is at the heart of the dispute which led to the shutdown. Without their extension, health insurance costs are expected to more than double in 2026 for 24 million Americans who use “Obamacare,” according to KFF, a think tank specializing in health issues.

“The health of people across this country is on the verge of becoming unaffordable (…). And this (in the United States), the richest country in the world in history! “, denounced Hakeem Jeffries on Tuesday.

Since 1^er October, more than a million civil servants are not paid. The payment of certain aid is severely disrupted, and tens of thousands of flights have been canceled in recent days due to shortages of air traffic controllers, some of whom choose to call in sick rather than work without pay.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy issued a new warning Tuesday: If the House of Representatives does not quickly adopt the new budget text, further repercussions can be expected at airports.