US senators have reached an agreement to end the ‘shutdown’ in the US, US media reported.

• During “shutdown”: Trump administration urges states to ‘cancel’ efforts to fully pay food aid
• Impact on airports: More than 1,500 flights canceled on second day of travel reduction order

At least eight centrist Democratic senators have reached an agreement with Senate Republican leadership and the White House to reopen the government in exchange for a future vote on extending expanded Affordable Care Act subsidies, the broadcaster said, a measure that has also faced resistance within the Democratic Party. If approved, the deal would end the longest strike in U.S. history.

Republicans, who control 53 votes in the Senate, have unsuccessfully tried in recent weeks to persuade enough Democrats to pass a stopgap spending bill. So far, it has the support of only three members of the Democratic caucus, not enough to reach the minimum 60 votes needed to proceed.

Thune’s comments suggest he believes his party is on the verge of gaining enough support from Democrats to move forward. This would be a notable development, especially given that Republicans have rejected Democrats’ main demand in fighting the government shutdown: an extension of the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance subsidies that expire at the end of the year.

• ‘“Shutdown” in the US: Understand what the strike is and its impact in the country

Thune has expressed hope for days that a deal could be reached, but it was unclear whether Democrats, who are divided over how to proceed, would be willing to work with Republicans to move forward. The two men met Sunday night to discuss next steps, as top House Democrats expressed anger over the new deal. The minority leader, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, said in an angry statement that House Democrats oppose such a deal.

“Senate Republicans appear likely to send a spending bill to the House that does not extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits,” Jeffries said in a statement, indicating he believes there is enough Democratic support for the bill to move forward. “Donald Trump and the Republican Party are responsible for creating the conditions that are harmful to our country, and the American people know it.”

Thune’s comments followed a heated debate by a bipartisan group of moderate senators seeking a path to reopening the government in an unusual Sunday session as the government shutdown stretches into its 40th day.

As a potential deal approaches, Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Virginia, said he would vote to reopen the government with provisions in the short-term spending bill to bring furloughed federal workers back to work and ensure they receive back pay.

“This legislation protects federal employees from wrongful termination, reinstates those who were wrongly fired during the government shutdown, and ensures that federal employees receive the pay they are owed, as required by legislation I passed in 2019,” Kaine said in a statement. “This is an important step.”

The core of the deal emerging in the Senate is a spending package that moderates in both parties are negotiating in private, including a new stopgap measure to fund the government through January and three separate spending measures covering programs related to agriculture, military construction and legislative bodies through most of 2026.

Senate Budget Committee leaders on Sunday announced a temporary funding measure that includes provisions that Democrats have quietly pushed to reverse President Trump’s federal worker layoffs during the government shutdown and prevent further mass layoffs through January. The three separate spending bills omit most of the deep cuts President Trump proposed in this year’s budget.

For example, President Trump’s proposal would eliminate the Food for Peace program, which sends surplus U.S. crops to hungry and starving communities around the world. The Senate bill would allocate US$1.2 billion (R6.4 billion) to the program, which was championed by many Republican lawmakers from key agricultural states.

• read more: Understand what SNAP is, the food assistance program affected by the U.S. government shutdown.

Senate negotiators also rejected a House Republican proposal to cut in half funding for the 100-year-old Government Accountability Office (GAO), which was established to help Congress oversee federal spending. GAO has ruled seven times this year that Mr. Trump’s actions violated rules prohibiting unilateral withdrawal of funds, and current law allows the agency to sue the president to force the release of illegally withheld funds.

Instead, the senators responsible for allocating the funds proposed leaving the GAO’s funding unchanged and eliminating a provision that their House colleagues had proposed that would prevent the agency from suing the White House in the future.

Democrats have spent weeks demanding that Republicans agree to permanently extend health care subsidies in exchange for a vote to fund the government, but Republicans have refused to meet that condition. On Friday, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York scaled back that requirement, saying Democrats would vote to reopen the government if the bill included just a one-year extension of the health care tax credit. Republicans quickly rejected the proposal as unfeasible.

• Search for garbage food and inventory: 42 million Americans not receiving food assistance report hardship during shutdown

Democrats across the ideological spectrum were already expressing serious concerns when details of a potential deal emerged Sunday night. Democratic Sen. Bernie Sanders, R-Vermont, said as he entered Congress that voting to reopen the government without guaranteeing extended health care benefits would be a “political disaster.”

Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, who was initially involved in bipartisan negotiations, also had no intention of supporting such a measure.