Ana Faguy
Reporting from Washington DC

Seven Democratic senators and one independent who generally votes with the party sided with Senate Republicans to get this deal through. They are:

• Nevada's Catherine Cortez Masto
• Illinois's Dick Durbin
• Pennsylvania's John Fetterman
• New Hampshire's Maggie Hassan
• Virginia's Tim Kaine
• Maine's Angus King (independent)
• Nevada's Jacky Rosen
• New Hampshire's Jeanne Shaheen

Only one Republican voted against the deal: Kentucky's Rand Paul. He has a history of breaking from his party on spending issues, and said he was voting against the measure because it included increases to the national debt.

Ana Faguy
Reporting from Washington DC

We've been waiting nearly two hours but the first obstacle to reopening the federal government has been passed.

Texas Senator John Cornyn just walked onto the Senate floor and said he was voting in the affirmative, giving Republicans and the Democrats who joined them the 60 votes they needed to pass this procedural vote.

After the vote tally was read aloud, members of the Senate applauded.

But remember, while this is a big step, there are still more hurdles to come in the House.

The Senate has just passed legislation that serves as the first step to reopening the US government after the longest shutdown in history.

After 40 days of stalemate, a small group of Democrats sided with Republicans to pass a deal.

We will bring you reaction and analysis shortly.

Ana Faguy
Reporting from Washington DC

As time has gone on, the pain of the government shutdown has worsened and more and more everyday Americans have felt its impacts.

Lots of us who have been following this shutdown closely and have been on Capitol Hill have said the end would come when the pain on everyday Americans became too much to bare for one of the political parties.

Well that happened this week, when the transportation department said airlines would have to reduce the number of domestic flights at 40 major US airports.

Over the weekend, thousands of Americans faced flight delays and cancellations. Travel by air became a nightmare across the US.

Some 48 hours later, Senators reached a deal.

Image source, EPA

Disruption at airports has become one of the most high-profile impacts of this record shutdown.

More than 10,000 flights to or from airports in the United States were delayed on Sunday, according to data from flight tracker FlightAware.

That's up from the nearly 6,000 and 7,000 US flights that were delayed on Saturday and Friday respectively.

Earlier in the week, aviation authorities said they would be reducing air capacity by up to 10% at 40 of the country's busiest airports due to staffing shortages.

We're still waiting for tonight's vote to wrap up - here's a reminder of what this is all about.

Not all aspects of government stop during a shutdown. Services deemed essential continue as normal, but most staff are not paid until the government reopens.

Border protection and law enforcement staff, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, and in-hospital medical care workers are expected to operate as usual.

However many flights have been cancelled or delayed because of a shortage of air traffic controllers, who are also expected to work without pay.

Thousands of government employees deemed non-essential have been furloughed - temporarily put on unpaid leave.

And money for Snap (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), commonly known as food stamps, has run out.

The 41 million people enrolled in the programme were warned in late October that they would lose their food assistance. On 6 November a federal judge ordered the administration must fully fund the programme using emergency funds, but the order was put on hold the next day by the US Supreme Court.

Ana Faguy
Reporting from Washington DC

Wondering what is going on? Us too. The vote has been open for well over an hour but we are still waiting for one last senator to cast his vote: John Cornyn, a Texas Republican.

The Senate will wait as long as it has to for him to turn up and make the passage of this deal official.

There has been some speculation that he is among the many Americans facing travel disruption due to the shutdown and has struggled to get to DC but we can't confirm that ourselves.

Either way, some US media is reporting that he is in the city and on his way to Capitol Hill.

As soon as he arrives, the progress of this deal will be confirmed and the beginning of the end will be in sight for this record shutdown.

Image source, Getty Images

Democrat Senator Jeanne Shaheen has just posted on X explaining why she voted in favour of this deal.

Calling it "a big step forward towards protecting the health care of tens of millions of Americans", the New Hampshire lawmaker says this deal "gives Democrats control of the Senate floor" on "extending the enhanced premium tax credits to make health care more affordable for millions of Americans".

"Republicans have made clear that they will not address health care as part of shutdown talks - and that waiting longer will only prolong the pain Americans are feeling because of the shutdown."

Ana Faguy
Reporting from Washington DC

Image source, Getty Images

It's been more than an hour since voting opened on the floor of the US Senate to begin the process of reopening the government.

We know this deal has effectively passed now but it isn't formally done until all 100 lawmakers have cast their vote.

We're still waiting on one Republican - Senator John Cornyn of Texas - to do so. It won't change anything but it isn't a done deal until he's voted.

We're waiting and watching - stick with us.

Anthony Zurcher
North America correspondent

Enough Democrats have voted for the government funding bill to ensure its passage - assuming all the Republican senators vote in favour.

At the moment, three Republican conservatives are yet to vote.

They may be holding out for some kind of side deal from Senate Majority Leader John Thune.

While we vote for tonight crucial Senate vote to conclude, here's a reminder of why this matters.

The current US government shutdown, which entered its 40th day on Sunday, is the longest on record.

It started when Republicans and Democrats could not agree to pass a bill funding government services past 1 October, when the previous federal budget expired.

A shutdown means that many - but not all - US government services are temporarily suspended.

On top of that, around 1.4 million federal employees are on unpaid leave or working without pay.

Anthony Zurcher
North America correspondent

We've seen a collection of centrist Democrats facing tough re-election fights next year voting in favour of reopening the government tonight, as well as others who are retiring.

One notable exception, however, was Jon Ossoff of Georgia. He’s facing a tight re-election campaign in 2026 but voted against the deal.

He may have calculated that being seen as abandoning the shutdown fight risks losing the support of a Democrat base that has enthusiastically backed him in the past - even if it means he gives his Republican opponent a new line of attack against him.

Ana Faguy
Reporting from Washington DC

So far, 56 Senators - including eight Democrats - have voted in support of this resolution.

Forty Senators - all Democrats except one - have voted against the measure.

The four Senators we're still waiting for to vote are all Republicans, so all are expected to back the deal

That means it is all but certain that this agreement is going to pass tonight - we're now just waiting for that to be formally confirmed.

Anthony Zurcher
North America correspondent

The focus of this government shutdown fight has been on health insurance subsidies for millions of Americans that are set to expire at the end of this year - but it has also been about much more than that.

Democrats have been outraged over Republican-backed cuts to government programmes and reductions in the federal workforce.

They’ve accused Trump of pushing – and breaking – the boundaries of presidential power. They’ve warned that the nation is veering towards authoritarianism.

The shutdown, for many on the left, was a chance for Democrats to draw a line in the sand.

If the government reopens with no fundamental changes or new limits on Trump, many on the left will feel this was a wasted opportunity.

Ana Faguy
Reporting from Washington DC

If you're watching along with us, we're seeing dozens of US senators on the floor of the Senate as they vote on this potential solution to the government shutdown.

This is a procedural vote, so the battle isn't over yet - but this the most movement we've seen from the politicians in Washington in 40 days.

Once the vote is open, Senators have some time to come to the floor and cast their vote in support or opposition of the measure.

We're waiting for the last few senators to trickle in. Stick with us and we'll bring you the latest.

Donald Trump says he believes the US government shutdown will end soon.

Speaking briefly to reporters, he says "we'll know very soon".

As a reminder, voting is still under way in the Senate but it is becoming clear that enough Democrats are ready to back the deal for it to pass imminently.

Ana Faguy
Reporting from Washington DC

This Senate vote is the first and, some would argue, biggest battle to reopen the US government - but the fight is not over yet.

If this procedural vote should pass the Senate - as it appears it will any moment now - it still needs to go to the House and to the president's desk.

While Donald Trump has said he will back the proposal to reopen the government, many in the House have said they will not.

With the house out of session - and in many instances lawmakers out of town - it will be a difficult task to get the votes needed because of the travel difficulties caused by the government shutdown.

Democrats getting little in return for shutdownpublished at 01:53 GMT

01:53 GMT

Anthony Zurcher
North America correspondent

History suggests that the party that triggers a government shutdown tends to get very little in return for their efforts. On Sunday, it appears history will repeat itself.

Senate Democrats, who had prevented Republicans from passing government-funding legislation for 40 days, demanded an extension of health insurance subsidies for more than 20 million Americans.

But with this deal, which a handful of their number appear to support, all the party gets is a chance to vote on an extension, with no guarantee of success.

Voting is still under way in the Senate - stick with us for updates.

Ana Faguy
Reporting from Washington DC

The major sticking point for Democrats in this government shutdown battle was securing an extension on healthcare benefits for millions of Americans.

As part of the deal that was negotiated, Senate Majority Leader John Thune promised Democrats he would hold a vote on extending those healthcare benefits by the second week of December.

Thune spoke on the floor just before the Senate began voting to advance the first part of the deal.

“I’m thankful to be able to say we have senators, both Democrats and Republicans, who are eager to get to work to address that crisis in a bipartisan way,” Thune said.

“We also have a president who is willing to sit down and get to work on this issue. So I’m looking forward to see what solutions might be brought forward.”

Thune did not say exactly what that bill would contain.

Earlier, we heard Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer explaining why he would vote against deal, saying “America is in the midst of a Republican-made Health Care crisis”.

He continued: “Democrats have been fighting to end this crisis over and over again.

"We offered Republicans a compromise, a proposal that would extend the ACA tax credits for a year and open up the government at the same time. They once again said no.

"They showed they are against any health care reform.”