Government shutdown could end this week as House considers Senate deal

The House of Representatives appears to be making rapid progress toward ending the longest government shutdown in history; lawmakers are returning to Capitol Hill after a six-week recess.

The House Rules Committee will meet to consider the Senate’s amended federal funding plan after 5 p.m. Tuesday, two sources told Fox News Digital.

In other words, the 42-day shutdown that has delayed thousands of air travels, left millions of people relying on federal benefits in limbo, and forced thousands of federal workers to either lay off or work without pay could end before this weekend.

The House Rules Committee is the final hurdle for most legislation before it gets a Housewide vote. Lawmakers on a key panel vote to advance a bill while setting conditions for its consideration, such as possible amendment votes and timing of debate.

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The current funding bill is expected to advance through committee along party lines. Democrats on the panel will likely oppose the measure in line with House Democratic leaders, while Republicans have not signaled meaningful opposition.

Two Republicans on the committee, Reps. Chip Roy, R-Texas, and Ralph Norman, R.S.C., who often oppose legislation from GOP leaders as not conservative enough, have both suggested they would support the funding measure.

Roy told Fox News Digital on Monday night that he would vote “yes” on the bill in the House, meaning he would likely not oppose the bill in the House Rules Committee.

The Texas Republican is currently running for attorney general of the Lone Star State.

Norman told Fox News Digital via text message Tuesday morning when asked about both the Rules Committee and House votes: “My support is based specifically on the VERIFICATION of the top-line spending limits that we have previously passed, as it relates to the 3 bills.”

“If ‘THIN PRINT’ matches what’s being reported, I’ll say yes,” Norman said.

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The South Carolina Republican running for governor was referring to the three full-year spending bills that were part of the latest bipartisan compromise passed by the Senate Monday night.

Terms of the deal include a new extension of fiscal year 2025 federal funding levels through Jan. 30 to give congressional negotiators more time to reach a longer-term agreement on fiscal year 2026 spending.

Rep. Chip Roy sits next to Rep. Ralph Norman and listens to a House Rules Committee meeting on the One Big Beautiful Bill at the U.S. Capitol on May 21, 2025 in Washington. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

This would also give lawmakers some progress on that mission and advance legislation that would provide funding for the Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration; Department of Veterans Affairs and military construction; and the legislature.

These are three of 12 separate bills intended to meet Congress’ annual appropriations and are paired with a vehicle called a “van.”

In a victory for Democrats, the deal would also reverse federal layoffs carried out by the Trump administration in October, and those workers would be paid for the time they were furloughed.

It also guarantees Senate Democrats a vote on legislation to expand Obamacare subsidies developed during the COVID-19 pandemic, which expires at the end of this year.

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Extending increased subsidies for Obamacare, also known as the Affordable Care Act (ACA), was a key demand for Democrats in the weeks-long impasse.

But no such guarantee was given in the House of Representatives, so Democrats effectively pushed through their core demand to end the shutdown; It was a move that infuriated progressives and leaders of left-wing groups in Congress.

The full House is expected to take up the measure after 4pm on Wednesday, according to a memo sent to lawmakers.

A view of the US Capitol in Washington, November 4, 2024. (Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

First there will be a “rules vote” on the bill, with lawmakers expected to greenlight debate on the House floor, followed by a vote on the measure itself on Wednesday evening.

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House schedules on both Tuesday and Wednesday were left deliberately flexible to allow lawmakers to return to Washington due to flight delays and cancellations across the country caused mostly by the shutdown.

The parliament last met on September 19, and lawmakers passed legislation to continue funding the government until November 21.

With support from House Democrats Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, and two Republicans, Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky. and passed with opposition from Victoria Spartz, R-Ind.

So far, no House Republicans have publicly signaled opposition to the new measure.