At the Congress

USA, shutdown deal in the Senate. Trump: '$2,000 to every American thanks to tariffs'

The vote was held on Sunday evening, after 14 failed attempts

10 November 2025

Il leader della maggioranza al Senato Usa John Thune REUTERS/Aaron Schwartz

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

The Senate approved late Sunday night the first phase of an agreement that would end the US government shutdown that began on 1 October. The procedural measure, which allows other votes essential to the deal to be held starting today Monday, was approved with a minimum of 60 votes in favour, after eight Democratic senators broke with the party leadership to support the agreement. Forty senators voted against.

"We seem to be getting very close to ending the shutdown" of the US government, US President Donald Trump told reporters after an agreement was reached in the Senate to fund government activities until 30 January.

Trump, who pardoned Giuliani and the allies who contested the 2020 vote, also assured that every US citizen, except those with high incomes, will receive a bonus of 'at least $2,000' thanks to the tariffs imposed on international trade. "We are now the richest and most respected country in the world, with almost no inflation," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. "It will pay a dividend of at least $2,000 per person (not including those with high incomes) to everyone," the president added, defending his trade policy just days after a majority of Supreme Court justices expressed scepticism about Trump's decision to use emergency economic powers to impose global tariffs.

The agreement on the shutdown, on the other hand, was reached after uninterrupted negotiations throughout the weekend. This shutdown is the longest ever recorded in the United States and resulted in the furlough of about 1.4 million federal employees and the halting of air travel and food subsidies for 41 million low-income Americans.

Voting was held open in the Senate chamber for over two hours to allow the final 'yes' vote, cast by Republican Senator John Cornyn of Texas, who travelled to Washington, D.C. on Sunday evening for the debate. Senators applauded when Cornyn entered to vote in favour of the measure, shortly before 10.50pm.

The agreement does not include what had been the Democrats' main demand: an extension of the Affordable Care Act tax credits, which expire at the end of December. However, for the first time since the start of the shutdown, the deal does include a guarantee by Republicans to vote in December on a bill chosen by Democrats to extend these subsidies, which more than 20 million Americans use to reduce the cost of health insurance plans.

The agreement must be approved by the House of Representatives and signed by President Donald Trump. It provides for the cancellation of all permanent layoffs of public employees during the shutdown. It also guarantees that all federal employees will receive their normal salaries retroactively, those accrued during the shutdown, when many of them were not allowed to work.

The package includes provisions for a bipartisan budget process and to prevent the White House from using continuing resolutions to fund the government. Until September, it will also fund the SNAP programme, which helps feed 42 million Americans through food subsidies.

Usa, trovato un accordo tra i senatori per porre fine allo shutdown

Last week, the Trump administration said it would not disburse SNAP benefits in November due to the shutdown, and on Friday it obtained a temporary order from the Supreme Court blocking a federal judge's ruling requiring full payment of SNAP benefits to recipients this month.

With Cornyn absent, the vote for over 25 minutes was deadlocked at 56 for and 40 against, with three other Republican senators, Rick Scott of Florida, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Mike Lee of Utah, not voting for unclear reasons. All three eventually voted in favour, in quick succession, after talking to Senate Majority Leader John Thune. One Republican, Rand Paul of Kentucky, voted against the measure.

"After 40 long days, I hope we can end the shutdown," Thune said before the vote. Thune's attempts to pass a resolution to reopen the government had failed in the previous 14 votes before Sunday night.

Thune negotiated the deal with the White House and three members of the Democratic caucus, Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan, both Democrats from New Hampshire, and Independent Senator Angus King of Maine.

The other Democrats who voted in favour of the agreement were party whip Dick Durbin of Illinois, Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen of Nevada, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, and Tim Kaine of Virginia.

Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont who sides with the Democrats, called the deal 'horrible' and said that the Republicans' agreement to schedule a vote next month on the ACA credits was a 'totally senseless gesture'.