On the 10th (local time), the 41st day of the U.S. federal government shutdown, the Republican stopgap spending bill passed the U.S. Senate. The shutdown appears likely to end as early as the 12th after a House vote and President Donald Trump’s signature.

The stopgap bill brought to the Senate floor that night passed 60 in favor to 40 against, with Republican votes joined by some moderate Democrats.

Although Republicans hold 53 of the Senate’s 100 seats, they had been unable to secure the 60 votes needed to end a Democratic filibuster and bring the bill to the floor. However, after eight lawmakersincluding seven moderate Democrats Dick Durbin (Illinois), Jeanne Shaheen (New Hampshire), John Fetterman (Pennsylvania), Tim Kaine (Virginia), and independent Angus King (Maine)agreed to the GOP’s stopgap and voted to end the filibuster, Senate Republicans quickly pushed it through to a final vote.

After Senate passage, the bill sent to the House includes a short-term spending measure extending the funding deadline to late January next year, and separate appropriations for three areas whose deadline is September 30 next year: agriculture·military construction·legislative branch agencies. It guarantees the rehiring of federal employees furloughed during the shutdown and payment of back wages, but excludes extending subsidies under the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), the biggest point of contention between the parties.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (Republican) said after the Senate vote that “our long national nightmare is finally nearing its end,” and urged House Republicans to return to Washington immediately. Lawmakers had all returned to their districts after Johnson declared a recess on September 19 to block the introduction of an item related to the so-called ‘Jeffrey Epstein files’.

AP reported that reduced flight operations at major airports due to the shutdown were also affecting how quickly lawmakers could return to Washington, and that the vote would begin no sooner than the afternoon of the 12th.

At a White House swearing-in ceremony for the new U.S. ambassador to India, when asked by reporters whether he would accept the Senate’s stopgap bill, President Trump called it “very good” and said, “We will reopen the country very quickly.”

He reiterated his criticism of Obamacare, emphasizing, “We are not going to pour $1.5 trillion (about KRW 2,200 trillion) into people released from prison, gangs, and drug dealers. They want health benefits, but that harms our health-care system.” He also said, “We want health insurance that delivers benefits directly to the people, not the insurance companies.”

Infuriated by the passage of a stopgap without an Obamacare extension, House Democrats vowed, “We will not cave like the Senate,” but it appears difficult for them to block the bill in the numerically disadvantaged House. A Republican House member who requested anonymity told Politico that even hardliners in the party’s Freedom Caucus were favorable to the bill. Asked whether he had the votes to pass the stopgap, Speaker Johnson replied, “I think so.”