Nov. 9, 2025Updated Nov. 11, 2025, 10:50 a.m. ET
WASHINGTON – The record-breaking U.S. government shutdown appears headed for its end after more than a month of Washington gridlock caused real pain on main street.
It’s welcome news to many in Washington and around the country after the stalemate led to furloughs and firings of hundreds of thousands of federal workers, while millions more Americans were unable to travel, afford food, or send their kids to preschool.
Still, not everyone got what they wanted out of the final deal.
Senate Democrats backed down from their long-held policy demands involving health care. Republicans who want to cut more spending aren’t thrilled with President Donald Trump‘s White House.
Add it all up and it’s Politics 101, which means there are always winners – and losers:
The winners
(Some) moderate Democrats: Moderate Democrats like Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire were happy to see a deal finally come together Sunday night. Shaheen called her decision to advance a revised funding bill a “big step forward towards protecting the health care of tens of millions of Americans.”
Centrists in the party have been itching to reopen. They’ve been negotiating with Republicans for weeks. The bipartisan back-channeling has ebbed and flowed, but was notably curtailed last week by Democrats’ sweeping election wins.
In politics, however, there are no absolutes. Other moderates, such as freshman Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Michigan, fumed at the compromise. She was initially part of bipartisan talks to reopen, but said Sunday her participation had wavered in more recent days.
“We’ve got to do something concrete on health care, and it’s hard to see how that happened,” she told reporters.
Federal workers: The agreement is a boon for federal workers, including air-traffic controllers, who’ve missed several paychecks since the government was shuttered Oct. 1. Hundreds of thousands have been furloughed while others worked without pay. The deal guarantees them all backpay.
The agreement also rescinds the firings of the more than 4,000 federal staffers across the government who were laid off after the shutdown began. Those firings have since been paused in court. If the legislation passes, it will restore the Education Department’s special education division, among many other offices that were wiped out.
Republicans (kind of): Some Republican leaders, like Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, were thrilled to see the compromise come together. She was a main driver behind bipartisan negotiations to end the crisis.
“I look forward to voting for this legislation and ending the unnecessary harm to the security of our families and our nation,” she said on the Senate floor on Sunday.
President Donald Trump has also been increasingly vocal about needing the shutdown to end, calling on senators to stay on the job without weekends until then.
The losers
Progressive Democrats: Progressives balked at the proposal on Sunday.
“I will not support a deal that does nothing to make health care more affordable,” said Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts. “The fight to lower costs is a righteous fight, and we must not give it up.”
While senators will take a vote in mid-December on extending the health care subsidies at the center of the shutdown battle, Republicans wouldn’t fully commit to approving them. An uncertain vote would be tantamount to “caving,” Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, told reporters last week.
Obamacare enrollees: Millions of Obamacare enrollees could see their premiums skyrocket next year if Congress doesn’t vote in December to extend the subsidies that help make their health care more affordable.
Republicans (kind of): The most conservative lawmakers, especially in the House of Representatives, likely won’t be happy with the proposed increased spending levels for some agencies and programs. The White House is also conceding by reversing federal worker layoffs and committing to encroach less on Congress’ spending authority.
Zachary Schermele is a congressional reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach him by email at zschermele@usatoday.com. Follow him on X at @ZachSchermele and Bluesky at @zachschermele.bsky.social.
(This story has been updated with more information.)
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