November 9, 2025
In a rare Sunday session, the Senate late tonight cleared a procedural hurdle that appears to put lawmakers on the path to ending the government shutdown that has been going on for almost 40 days and disrupted commercial airline flights after the Department of Transportation began phasing in flight reductions at 40 airports on Friday. The vote was 60 to 40 – meeting the 60-vote threshold necessary for approval. Additional votes in the Senate and the House are still required before the federal government can reopen.
The Plan to End the Shutdown
The plan that the requisite number of senators has coalesced around includes a continuing resolution (CR) to reopen the government and provide funding to keep it operating through January 30, 2026. Paired with the short-term CR is a three-bill package of individual appropriations measures that provide funding for the Department of Agriculture; the legislative branch; military construction and veterans affairs for the full fiscal year. Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins (R-ME) released the legislative text for all three bills earlier today.
Lawmakers hope to use the time between now and January 30 to pass additional appropriations bills to fund the federal government – beyond the initial three that are part of the current deal.
Senate leaders have also agreed to a separate vote on extending expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies no later than mid-December. Democrats have been demanding that the stop-gap temporary funding measure include a one-year extension of the health care subsidies. Finally, the agreement appears to call for rehiring federal workers that had been subject to reductions in force (RIFs) during the shutdown and includes “protections” against future RIFs – items that are important to Democrats.
What’s Next?
Today’s procedural vote will allow the Senate to eventually vote on the plan described above to reopen and fund the government through January. It’s unclear when that vote will occur. The timing will depend on whether Senate Republican leader John Thune (R-SD) will receive the cooperation of his Senate colleagues.
Once the Senate clears the CR to end the government shutdown – the longest in U.S. history – the measure will go back to the House of Representatives for a vote. That chamber has been in recess since September 19, after lawmakers passed a clean CR that proposed to keep the government operating through November 21, a measure that failed to garner enough support in the Senate. It is unclear when House votes will occur or if there are sufficient votes in that chamber to approve the components of the Senate deal.
AAAE, USCTA, and Other Aviation Stakeholders Continue Calling for End of Government Shutdown
Last week, AAAE, USCTA, and a broad coalition of aviation stakeholders called on Congress to “end the shutdown without delay.” The statement, released by the Modern Skies Coalition, further stated: “This prolonged shutdown has strained the aviation system and its dedicated workforce to unacceptable levels of stress and disruption.”
The coalition is also taking out an ad in the Washington Post tomorrow that calls on lawmakers to end the shutdown. The letter signed by A4A, GAMA, AAAE, USCTA, ACI-NA, and a long list of aviation stakeholders also calls on Congress to pass the FY26 transportation appropriations bill “to continue needed investments in controller staffing and training; technicians and aviation safety personnel; and technology and air traffic facilities.”