The US Senate has approved a bipartisan measure aimed at ending the 40-day federal government shutdown by advancing a compromise bill yesterday to reauthorise funding and undo the layoffs of federal employees. The bill received exactly the 60 votes needed to advance in the Senate, with almost all Republicans voting in favour along with eight Democrats.

 

 

The compromise bill will now need to be approved by the House and signed by Donald Trump. The bill promises to reverse US President Donald Trump’s firings of federal employees during the course of the shutdown. The shutdown disrupted federal operations nationwide, including air travel. The government shutdown, now the longest in US history, also affected numerous other programmes, from national parks to federal research operations.