Government shutdown nears possible end as key House panel advances Senate-passed funding bill

The House Rules Committee has greenlit a Senate-passed bill that would reopen the government, bringing it a step closer to a final vote in the House as early as Wednesday afternoon.

In an 8-4 party line vote, the panel approved a rule setting the terms of debate for the bill, a key procedural step that allows the legislation to be taken up by the full House.

The powerful committee rejected a slew of amendments offered up by Democratic lawmakers, including one aimed at extending expiring health insurance subsidies — a demand for most Democrats.

Some House Republicans were sympathetic to a Democratic amendment to remove a provision of the Senate-passed bill that would allow senators to sue for $500,000 if federal law enforcement seizes their data. The amendment was ultimately voted down, though, with GOP lawmakers warning the bill would need to go back to the Senate if the House makes changes, further extending the government shutdown.

Several Republicans on the House Rules Committee denounced a provision in the bill that would allow senators to sue for up to $500,000 for data seizures or subpoenas like those after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. 

Though some House Republicans appeared open to supporting an amendment from Democrats to strip it from the bill, they said they would not vote to do so because the House would have to send the amended bill back to the Senate, which would prolong the shutdown. 

"It is beside my comprehension that this got put in the bill, and it's why people have such a low opinion of this town," GOP Rep. Chip Roy of Texas said. "That provision needs to get fixed, and we need to find a way as a body to get it fixed as soon as possible." 

"I personally agree it should be removed," said GOP Rep. Austin Scott of Georgia. "The problem is if we remove it, it has to go back to the Senate. And then you're right back to where you were 40 days ago." 

Rep. Chip Roy of Texas, a member of the House Freedom Caucus who sits on the Rules Committee, said he's "unaware of any opposition of significance" to the Senate-passed bill from members of the conservative group. 

Roy said he plans to vote for the bill and predicted the House Rules meeting could last three or four hours. 

With Congress on the brink of a deal to end the government shutdown, the Supreme Court has agreed to let the political process play out and keep in place a brief pause of a federal court judge's ruling that ordered the Trump administration to fully fund SNAP benefits in November.

Read more here. 

Around 6:40 p.m., the House Rules Committee kicked off what's expected to be a lengthy meeting ahead of Wednesday's floor vote on the funding package to reopen the government. 

"The Rules Committee is convening to end, finally, the Democrat-induced-Chuck-Schumer-sponsored shutdown," Republican Rep. Virginia Foxx of North Carolina, the chair of the committee, said in opening the meeting. "It has been over 40 days since we last sat in this room when Republicans advanced a responsible, nonpartisan, clean CR and all but one Democrat voted to shut the government down." 

"Long time, no see," Rep. Jim McGovern, the top Democrat on the panel, said in his opening remarks, referring to the House's more than monthlong recess. "I hardly recognize you guys. Where the hell have you been?" 

Jeffries said Democrats also plan to introduce an amendment to strip a provision in the bill that would allow senators to bring lawsuits if federal law enforcement seizes or subpoenas their data without notifying them, with potential damages of $500,000 for each violation.

The New York Democrat called the provision "insanity," arguing it would line the pockets of "insurrectionist sympathizers." 

"We're going to tattoo that provision, just like we're going to tattoo the Republican health care crisis, on the forehead of every single House Republican who dares vote for this bill," Jeffries said. 

The language of the amendment appears to allow GOP senators to sue over steps that the Justice Department took during special counsel Jack Smith's investigation into President Trump related to the 2020 election. In October, Senate Republicans revealed an FBI document that showed investigators had obtained phone record data from eight senators and one congressman for calls they made in the days before and after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters that Democrats will offer an amendment during the House Rules Committee meeting to extend the expiring health care tax credits for three years. 

"House Republicans, welcome back from your taxpayer-funded seven-week vacation," the New York Democrat said ahead of the meeting. "You now have an opportunity to actually take some action in an area of this health care crisis by working with Democrats before the Rules Committee this evening to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits." 

Asked about a potential discharge petition to force a vote on the issue and whether he has made outreach to Republicans about supporting it, Jeffries said, "we haven't had any conversations with Republicans."

Rep. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts, the top Democrat on the House Rules Committee, said Democrats plan to offer amendments to the funding bill during the panel's meeting Tuesday night to tee up the legislation for a floor vote. 

McGovern acknowledged that Democrats are unlikely to be able to stop the bill from moving forward given the GOP majority. 

"They have a two-to-one majority in the Rules Committee. So either I have to be really persuasive or I have to shame them into doing the right thing," he said in an interview with CBS News' Caitlin Huey-Burns. 

If that fails, McGovern said Democrats will "look at procedural measures" to "try to force a vote" on extending expiring health care tax credits — a key demand for most congressional Democrats. The Senate GOP promised to hold a vote on the tax credits in exchange for eight Democratic votes to reopen the government, but the House GOP leadership is currently under no obligation to take up the issue.

He added that his constituents are calling him, "some in tears, saying that they just got their bills and their premiums are going to have gone up, skyrocketed, and they don't know how they're going to pay for it." 

McGovern also criticized House Speaker Mike Johnson's handling of the shutdown, saying he "basically abolished the House of Representatives for the last seven weeks." 

"We haven't had a formal session. He hasn't even brought Republicans to Washington to try to figure out a way to solve this. He just doesn't give a damn," he said. "He has diminished this institution and he's given a big middle finger to the American people."

Several House members have shared creative ways they're returning to Washington to avoid flight complications ahead of Wednesday's expected vote to end the government shutdown.

Republican Rep. Derrick Van Orden of Wisconsin posted a video on X saying he's "driving 951.8 miles from Wisconsin to DC on a Harley-Davidson," showing himself preparing for the ride on his motorcycle.

Separately, Republican Rep. Rick Crawford of Arkansas posted photos from a road trip with Republican Rep. Trent Kelly of Mississippi, saying they stopped at a Buc-ee's in Crossville, Tennessee, "as we head back to D.C. to end the Democrat shutdown." He added, "8 more hours to go!"

Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva, an Arizona Democrat, will be sworn in at 4 p.m. Wednesday, according to House Speaker Mike Johnson's office. 

The House is expected to begin voting on the funding bill to reopen the government soon after that. 

Grijalva's swearing-in will not affect the two-vote margin Republicans currently hold. 

She will be the decisive signature on a petition to force a vote on releasing files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.  

Read more here. 

The House Rules Committee will take up the funding bill beginning at 6:30 p.m., according to a spokesperson. The panel is the last stop for most legislation before it hits the House floor. 

Democrat Adelita Grijalva will be sworn in as a member of Congress on Wednesday when the House returns, seven weeks after she won a special election in Arizona. 

House Speaker Mike Johnson said in an interview with CNN on Monday night that Grijalva will be administered the oath of office after the House gavels in and before it holds votes on a funding bill to reopen the government. The House is expected to begin voting on the package as soon as 4 p.m. Wednesday. 

"After seven weeks of waiting, I almost can't believe it's true," Grijalva said Monday, lamenting that one of her first votes will be on a bill "that does nothing for affordable health care for the American people." 

Read more here.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told reporters in Wisconsin that air traffic controllers who have gone without pay during the shutdown should get partial back pay relatively quickly once the shutdown is over.

"I believe that in this package to reopen the government, our controllers could be paid within 48 hours of the government opening — not all of it, I think it's a 70% payment. But they'll get a big lump sum of what they're due, which is helpful," Duffy said. "They don't have to wait another two weeks to be paid."

The federal law dealing with back pay after a shutdown says federal employees should be reimbursed "at the earliest date possible after the lapse in appropriations ends." Air traffic controllers missed their second full paycheck on Tuesday.

A provision of the legislative package that would end the shutdown allows senators to bring lawsuits if federal law enforcement seizes or subpoenas their data without notifying them, with potential damages of $500,000 for each violation.

The language appears to allow GOP senators to sue over steps that the Justice Department took during special counsel Jack Smith's investigation into President Trump related to the 2020 election. In October, Senate Republicans revealed an FBI document that showed investigators had obtained phone record data from eight senators and one congressman for calls they made in the days before and after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. The records were obtained pursuant to a subpoena in 2023.

The bill requires service providers to alert Senate offices and the Senate sergeant at arms if federal law enforcement requests senators' data, and says a court cannot delay the notification unless the senator is the target of a criminal investigation.

The bill further states: "Any Senator whose Senate data, or the Senate data of whose Senate office, has been acquired, subpoenaed, searched, accessed, or disclosed in violation of this section may bring a civil action against the United States if the violation was committed by an officer, employee, or agent of the United States or of any Federal department or agency."

The bill says senators are entitled to $500,000 for each violation of the notification provisions, and it prevents the government from invoking several types of immunity to rebut the claims. Suits can be brought up to five years after a senator is first made aware of a violation, and allows senators to bring suits for any instances that occurred after January 2022. The FBI analyzed the senators' call records in 2023, meaning they could bring lawsuits under the legislation.

Read more here.

The appropriations bill in the Senate funding package that deals with congressional operations provides $203.5 million to bolster security for lawmakers.

The legislation provides a total of $3.5 billion for the House and Senate's operations through September 2026, including $2 billion for the House and $1.5 billion for the Senate, according to a GOP summary of the legislation.

Each senators' office will receive an additional $750,000 to pay for enhanced security measures, including "protective security of Senators and the residences of Senators at all times, irrespective of the physical location of the Senators at the time," according to an accompanying statement of intent. The bill also provides more funds for the Senate sergeant at arms to coordinate security programs.

The House sergeant at arms is directed to brief two House committees on "new security programs" within 30 days of the bill's passage. The bill provides $100 million to the House sergeant at arms for providing security for members and their families.

The security boost comes amid increasing concerns about political violence and a rise in threats against lawmakers. The U.S. Capitol Police, which is tasked with protecting the Capitol complex, will receive $852.2 million under the legislation.

The government shutdown continues to impact military families as Veterans Day falls on Day 42 of the funding lapse. Kathy Roth-Douquet, the founder and CEO of Blue Star Families, joins CBS News with more in the video below:

Air traffic controllers will miss their second full paycheck on Tuesday. 

"It is tough when your children are asking you questions about, Dad, can we, you know, go on vacation or can we do this or can we do dance or could we do basketball, and you don't have those extra funds. It is terrible," Joe Segretto told CBS News.

More than a month without pay has led to more absences among an already strained workforce, with at least 18 facilities reporting staffing shortfalls Monday evening.

Employees will receive back pay once the shutdown is over. Federal law says back pay must be sent "at the earliest date possible after the lapse in appropriations ends, regardless of scheduled pay dates."

Democratic Sen. John Fetterman, one of three Democrats who consistently voted with Republicans to end the shutdown, said he thinks the seven other Democrats who supported the final deal realized "this has to end." 

"I've been one of the very few that have been voting consistently since the beginning that it's always wrong to shut our government down," Fetterman said on "CBS Mornings" in an interview taped Monday. 

Fetterman continued that he thinks "enough people collectively" within the caucus agreed that "we would find eight people overall" to end the stalemate, "and we needed five more. And that's exactly what happened last night."

Fetterman told "CBS Mornings" that he deviated from his caucus over the shutdown because "we have to negotiate with Republicans" since "America decided to put us in the minority." 

"Two things must be true — that I want to make health care more affordable for Obamacare, but I also think that our government should never be held as a hostage, whether it's a Republican or it's a Democrat, it's always wrong," Fetterman said. 

Read more here.

In an interview with Fox News that aired Monday night, Mr. Trump said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer "went too far" with the shutdown.

"He thought he could break the Republicans and the Republicans broke him. But he did think that," Mr. Trump told Laura Ingraham.

Mr. Trump said that he feels "badly because I've known Chuck Schumer." Mr. Trump continued that he had "never seen a politician change so much. Also, he doesn't have —  he was a pretty talented guy. He's lost his talent." 

The House could start voting on the Senate-passed bill to end the government shutdown as early as 4 p.m. on Wednesday, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer told lawmakers.

Multiple votes are expected. If it passes, it will go to President Trump's desk.

The House has been out of session since Sept. 19, when lawmakers passed the original continuing resolution that would have prevented the shutdown.

The Senate approved the funding package in a 60-40 vote, with eight members of the Democratic caucus joining all but one Republican in favor of the bill that would end the government shutdown. 

The vote came on Day 41 of the impasse, after a deal was reached a day earlier and eight Democrats broke with their party to advance the measure through a key procedural hurdle.

The bill now goes to the House for approval. The lower chamber, which hasn't voted since Sept. 19, is expected to reconvene as soon as Wednesday.