Challenges Loom Over House Vote to End Government Shutdown

Wed Nov 12 2025 15:45:53 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

As the House of Representatives gears up to vote on a funding bill following the Senate's recent approval, multiple obstacles threaten the progress of the measure aimed at ending the historic US government shutdown.

Following the Senate's passage of a spending bill to conclude the longest government shutdown in US history, the focus now shifts to the House of Representatives. A vote is expected soon, but several challenges remain. Key issues include healthcare subsidy negotiations, potential Democratic opposition, Republican vote counts, and travel disruptions hindering lawmakers from gathering in Washington.

A day after the US Senate passed a spending bill to end the longest-ever government shutdown, the budget fight now moves to the House of Representatives.

The lower chamber of Congress is expected to vote this week on the funding measure. Unlike in the Senate, if House Republicans stay united, they don't need any Democrats to pass the budget. But the margin for error is razor thin.

Here are four potential hold-ups for the budget, before it can clear Congress and land on the president's desk for signing into law.

Will House Republicans budge on healthcare?

A key sticking point throughout the shutdown has been a desire on the part of Democrats to attach to the spending bill a renewal of tax credits that make health insurance less expensive for 24 million Americans.

Senate Republicans instead only agreed to grant Democrats a vote in December on whether to extend the subsidies – something they had already offered weeks ago. House Speaker Mike Johnson did not commit on Monday to allowing a vote in his chamber on the tax credits.

This entails a fair degree of political risk for Republicans, however. If they torpedo the subsidies, health coverage premiums could rocket, handing Democrats a ready-made campaign issue for next year's midterm elections. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a conservative Republican congresswoman from Georgia, has broken ranks with President Donald Trump to warn that her party must ensure health insurance premiums do not spike.

How intense will House Democratic opposition be?

Out of power in Washington, where Trump's Republicans control the House and Senate, Democrats appeared finally to have some political wind in their sails after a handful of election wins last week in Virginia, New Jersey, and New York City. But those victories, like the shutdown fight, have accentuated strategic tensions between the pragmatic and progressive, or left-wing, factions of the party.

The Democratic left is furious at defectors who voted with Senate Republicans to pass the budget on Monday, seeing this as a capitulation to Trump. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont called it a horrific mistake, while California Governor Gavin Newsom referred to it as surrender. Congressman Greg Casar warned that a deal that doesn't reduce healthcare costs would be a betrayal of millions of Americans counting on Democrats to fight for them.

However, centrist lawmakers like Jared Golden of Maine may cross the aisle to support the package, emphasizing the need to put the country above party.

Do Republicans have the votes?

Republicans control the House, holding 219 seats against the Democrats' 213, but can only afford to lose two votes to pass the spending plan. While most House Republicans are expected to support the funding package, fiscal hawks in the party may raise objections. Thomas Massie of Kentucky has repeatedly voted against such stopgap funding extensions.

The proposed deal would leave the federal government on a path to keep adding about $1.8 trillion a year to its debt. The Senate plan would extend funding only until January, but the House Freedom Caucus desires a longer-term budget that does more to rein in spending.

Will travel chaos delay the return to Washington?

House Speaker Mike Johnson has kept the chamber out of session for the last seven weeks to focus pressure on Senate Democrats to make a shutdown deal. Now he is urging lawmakers to return immediately to Washington with a vote set for Wednesday afternoon at the earliest.

However, members of Congress are facing the same flight delays plaguing other Americans during the shutdown, as airport capacity is further reduced due to weather and shortages of air traffic controllers. Record-cold temperatures and heavy snow in the Midwest are compounding these delays.