WASHINGTON: The United States Senate on Sunday (Nov 9) moved toward a vote on reopening the federal government amid optimism that an end to the historic shutdown, now in its 40th day, is within reach.

Senators expect a Sunday night vote on advancing a House-passed Bill that will be amended to combine the short-term funding measure, which would fund the government through January 2026, with a package of three full-year appropriations Bills, Senate Majority Leader John Thune said.

The amended package would still have to be passed by the House of Representatives and sent to President Donald Trump for his signature, a process that could take several days.

Senate Democrats so far have resisted efforts to pass a funding measure, aiming to pressure Republicans to agree to healthcare fixes that would include extending expiring subsidies under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). 

Under the deal being discussed, the Senate would agree to hold a separate vote later on the subsidies.

US Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat, told reporters that he would vote against the funding measure but suggested there could be enough Democratic support to pass it.

"I am unwilling to accept a vague promise of a vote at some indeterminate time, on some undefined measure that extends the healthcare tax credits," Blumenthal said.

Sunday marked the 40th day of the shutdown, which has sidelined federal workers and affected food aid, parks and travel, while air traffic control staffing shortages threaten to derail travel during the busy Thanksgiving holiday season late this month.

Senator Thom Tillis, a Republican from North Carolina, said the mounting effects of the shutdown have pushed the chamber toward an agreement. 

He said the final piece, a new resolution that would fund government operations into late January, would also reverse at least some of the Trump administration's mass layoffs of federal workers.

"Temperatures cool, the atmospheric pressure increases outside and all of a sudden it looks like things will come together," Tillis told reporters.

Should the government remain closed for much longer, economic growth could turn negative in the fourth quarter, especially if air travel does not return to normal levels by Thanksgiving, White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett warned on the CBS "Face th...