The Vote

The House passed a funding bill Wednesday night 222-209, ending the longest government shutdown in US history.

Two Republicans voted against it - Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Greg Steube of Florida. Six Democrats crossed party lines to vote yes.

President Trump will sign the bill at 9:45 p.m. ET in the Oval Office. "My friends, let's get this done," House Speaker Mike Johnson said shortly before voting began.

The 37-Day Standoff

The shutdown began October 1 and dragged on because Senate Democrats refused to pass funding without extending enhanced ACA tax credits. Those credits reduce health insurance costs for 20 million Americans and expire at the end of December.

Fourteen prior Senate votes failed. The stalemate finally broke when Republicans cut a deal with eight Democratic senators.

The Deal

Republicans agreed to allow Democrats a December vote on extending the boosted subsidies. That was enough to break the logjam.

Without those tax credits, millions of Americans will see sharp increases in Obamacare insurance costs.

The bill reverses all shutdown-related federal employee layoffs and ensures workers receive normal salaries they would have earned if the government hadn't shut down.

The Flight Crisis

The shutdown forced the Transportation Department to impose flight cuts due to air traffic controller shortages. Wednesday night, officials froze those cuts at 6%.

As of Tuesday, 6% of scheduled flights were cancelled at US airports. That level was set to rise to 10% by Friday before the freeze.

The Bottom Line

The longest government shutdown in history ends after 37 days with Republicans agreeing to let Democrats vote on ACA subsidies in December. Federal workers get back pay and the flight cancellations stop climbing.