US Lawmakers Set to Vote on Deal to End Shutdown
BBC News
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US Lawmakers Set to Vote on Deal to End Shutdown
BBC News
The lower chamber of the US Congress is voting on a bill to end the longest government shutdown in the country's history
It's been 43 days since the shutdown began. Thousands of federal employees have been working without pay, furloughed, or laid off
On Monday, the US Senate passed a bill to end the shutdown and fund the government – today that bill goes to the House of Representatives for approval
Lawmakers in the House have to reach a simple majority to pass the bill, and the margin is razor thin
If it passes, the bill moves to President Donald Trump for approval. He is expected to sign it this evening
The House gavelled back into session at 16:00 local time (21:00 GMT) and the first order of business was swearing in Arizona Democrat Adelita Grijalva
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Watch: Republican and Democratic House leaders on ending government shutdown
Edited by Oliver O'Connell and Caitlin Wilson, with Ana Faguy reporting from Capitol Hill
We're now listening to congressmembers debate ahead of the final vote on reopening the government.
The House voted just now on the rules of the debate – determining the discussions will last an hour. Democrats and Republicans will each get 30 minutes to make their points before moving on to the key decision on the bill's passage.
You can click Watch Live above to stream the proceedings and follow along here for the key lines.
The US government shutdown has had far-reaching impacts – from chaos and delays at airports to hundreds of thousands of federal employees working without pay to the suspension of food assistance programs for lower-income households.
So what happens if, after being closed for nearly a month and a half, the government reopens after tonight's vote?
Here are a few things the bill guarantees: 
Ana Faguy
Reporting from Capitol Hill
Congresswoman Lauren Boebert is seen at the Capitol in September
We just saw Lauren Boebert, a Colorado Republican who is a big supporter of the president, run through a tunnel of reporters to the House floor on her way to vote.
She's been the centre of one of today's other big news stories: the Epstein file dump.
Reports today have suggested the White House had been trying to get Boebert to remove her name from a discharge petition she had signed to get DoJ to release the Epstein files they have.
The deadline for Boebert to remove her name has passed, and her name stands on the petition – despite the White House's apparent objection.
A few of us reporters have continued to follow Boebert through the halls and ask about the meeting.
"Adults are allowed to have conversations," she says. "I asked to have more information and they gave me more information."Ana Faguy
Reporting from Capitol Hill
We've just got the final tally from the procedural vote.
There were four absences. Three Republicans and one Democrat.
Ordinarily, the margin would be 219-214 in favour of Republicans.
Tonight for the final vote, it will be 216 Republicans and 213 casting ballots.
If you're doing the maths on your fingers, that's 429 total representatives present tonight – or 215 votes required to pass the resolution.Ana Faguy
Reporting from Capitol Hill
A handful of US media outlets are reporting that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is planning to use a parliamentary tool called the "magic minute" this evening.
The "magic minute" – or leadership minute – is a House rule that allows party leaders to speak on the floor as long as they'd like to.
Other members of Congress have strict time limits on how long they can speak.
Past members of leadership have used the mechanism to speak for hours. We'll have to wait to see what Jeffries does tonightAna Faguy
Reporting from Capitol Hill
If you’re watching the stream above right now you’ll see that members of Congress are currently voting.
They’re voting on the rule to allow the bill to come to the floor.
We’ve told you about some of the travel delays members have faced to get here.
Well, now we’ll know for sure what attendance at tonight’s vote will look like.
US Representative and New Jersey's Governor-elect Mikie Sherrill just took the floor for the first time since winning the governor's race in her state last week. The Democrat says it will be her last speech in the chamber before submitting her resignation next week.
The outgoing lawmaker tells the chamber that she opposes tonight's vote on the continuing resolution because it "does nothing to protect over 450,000 New Jerseyans who will see their healthcare premium skyrocket".
Sherrill tells them that she ran on a promise "to take on anyone and stop at nothing to lower cost and build opportunity for everyone".
In her parting words, she issues a warning to her colleagues and takes aim at the Trump administration.
"Do not let this body become a ceremonial red stamp from an administration that takes food away from children, that rips healthcare away from people and takes food away from children. To the country, stand strong. As we say in the Navy, don't give up the ship."Ana Faguy
Reporting from Capitol Hill
Milling around with dozens of other reporters in one of the many tiled hallways in the US Capitol, I bump into US Representative Adelita Grijalva as she takes photos with her family just off the House floor.
The Arizona Democrat was sworn in earlier today when representatives returned to Capitol Hill for today's session.
For every other of the more than 400 lawmakers voting tonight, this is their first official act back in Washington after the shutdown. But for Grijalva, it's also her first day at a brand-new job.Ana Faguy
Reporting from Capitol Hill
There are currently 433 members of Congress. We'll be watching tonight as they all come to floor and cast their votes on whether or not to fund the US government, thereby ending the shutdown.
There is currently a 219-214 split in favour of Republicans, with two seats currently vacant.
That means the Republicans – who are expected to largely back the measure to re-open – can only afford to lose two votes in tonight's vote for it still to pass, if Democrats all vote against it.
Once we see the 217 number of votes in favour, we'll know the House has secured enough votes to push this measure over the edge.Ana Faguy
Reporting from Capitol Hill
Sierra Bird is one of more than 42 million Americans who rely Snap, or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, to feed their families.
Snap beneficiaries use re-loadable debit cards to buy essential grocery items. Although states administer the programmes themselves, much of its funding comes from the federal government.
Bird is a single mother of four living in Florida, desperate for the end of the government shutdown as she still hasn't gotten her Snap benefits for the month.
Instead, she's tiding her family over with food she's stockpiled.
Bird calls herself "one of the lucky ones". Her children go to schools that provide free breakfast and lunch.
"I only have to worry about dinners and weekends," she's told me.
Despite the movement on Capitol Hill to re-open the government, she's not optimistic about her benefits.
"I'm totally expecting it to last a bit longer," she says of the lack of help with food.
Even if the shutdown ends tonight – by the House approving the measure and the president signing it – it will take time for Americans to get caught up on services they missed during the lapse.Ana Faguy
Reporting from Capitol Hill
The chaos of Capitol Hill has returned in some form.
The House is back in session for the first time in weeks and you can tell.
The hallways are bustling with staffers and dozens of reporters running from hallway to hallway.
Members of Congress are going from the floor – where many are debating the merits of the government spending legislation they’ll vote on in a few hours – to do TV hits.
All of this debate, and running, tees up the vote many Americans have been long-awaiting – to reopen the government.
Stick with us and we’ll bring you the latest.
Democrat Adelita Grijalva's first act as a new congresswoman was to sign a petition to force a vote on the Epstein files.
The paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein has been back in the news today after House Democrats released emails from his estate that mention President Donald Trump.
Seconds after she was officially sworn in and addressed the House, Grijalva became the 218th signatory on the petition – pushing it over the threshold needed to move forward.
"Justice cannot wait another day," she said.
We've been covering the developments on the Epstein files on our other livepage. You can follow along here. 
Sakshi Venkatraman
Reporting from New York
When it comes to raw numbers, Republicans in the House of Representatives face less of an uphill battle than those in the Senate did to move the funding package forward.
The Senate’s requirement of a super-majority of 60 votes meant some Democrats had to change their positions and vote alongside Republicans for the bill to advance. But that’s not the case here.
In the House, only a simple majority is required to move legislation forward. The Republicans already have that – they have 219 seats as opposed to the Democrats’ 214.
If House Republicans stay united, they don't need any Democrats to pass the funding package. But the margin for error is razor thin. They need 217 votes for the bill to pass.
While most House Republicans are expected to support the bill, given that Trump backs it, fiscal hawks in the party will raise objections. Thomas Massie of Kentucky – who has repeatedly voted against such stopgap funding extensions – is expected to vote no.
Nardine Saad
US President Donald Trump blamed Democrats for trying to distract from the potential conclusion of the federal government shutdown on Wednesday by releasing new Epstein documents.
In a post on Truth Social he writes: "The Democrats are trying to bring up the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax again because they’ll do anything at all to deflect on how badly they’ve done on the Shutdown, and so many other subjects.
"Only a very bad, or stupid, Republican would fall into that trap.
"The Democrats cost our Country $1.5 Trillion Dollars with their recent antics of viciously closing our Country, while at the same time putting many at risk — and they should pay a fair price.
"There should be no deflections to Epstein or anything else, and any Republicans involved should be focused only on opening up our Country, and fixing the massive damage caused by the Democrats!"
However, some estimates on the shutdown's economic hit downsize that trillion-dollar figure to closer to $28bn.
About half an hour after his first post on Truth Social, Trump posted again, reiterating his first missive on the files.
"In other words, the Democrats are using the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax to try and deflect from their massive failures, in particular, their most recent one — THE SHUTDOWN!"
In a press briefing earlier today, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also accused the Democrats of creating a "manufactured hoax" by releasing some of the documents this morning ahead of the House returning.
Ana Faguy
Reporting from Capitol Hill
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Adelita Grijalva signs Epstein petition after being sworn in
Adelita Grijalva is the newest US congresswoman.
The Democratic representative for Arizona was just sworn in as the House resumed business and received thunderous applause on the floor of the chamber.
She has waited seven weeks for this ceremony that was delayed – according to House Speaker Mike Johnson – because of the government shutdown.
You can watch her first speech live at the link above.Ana Faguy
Reporting from Capitol Hill
It’s official.
For the first time since 19 September or for the first time in 54 days, the House is officially in session.
This means, the vote to reopen the government is inching closer.
You can Watch live by clicking on the link above.
Massachusetts Rep Jim McGovern, flanked by fellow Democrats, talks with reporters ahead of the Rules Committee meeting on Tuesday evening
Democratic Rep Jim McGovern told CBS News, the BBC's US partner, that he took a train from Massachusetts to Washington to avoid flight delays caused by the shutdown.
He said on Tuesday: “Rather than fly to Logan Airport, I decided to take a train from Massachusetts down to Washington just to avoid any delays, because the Rules Committee is meeting tonight, and I had to be here so I couldn't afford to have my plane cancelled.”
He said people on the train “wanted to know when this was going to end, and wanted to know whether or not we were going to solve the health care crisis that was looming".
In his opening remarks as the ranking member of the House Rules Committee, he mocked his Republican counterparts at Tuesday night's meeting.
"Welcome back. Long time no see. I hardly recognize you guys. Where the hell have you been?" he said, accusing them of taking a "nice, two-month paid vacation" while Speaker Johnson kept the House out of session, and joking that they had handed out missing person posters.
The committee approved the bill without amendment on a party line vote after a seven-hour meeting.
Nardine Saad
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt
In a media briefing at the White House earlier today, President Trump's press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that Democrats "dragged on" the government shutdown for 43 days and that the damage caused by the "reckless" shutdown "cannot be forgotten".
On top of federal workers missing pay cheques, and disruptions in air travel and food benefits, Leavitt added that the US has "lost billions and billions of dollars in economic activity".
She said that "it feels like Groundhog Day being up here again, talking about this Democrat shutdown".
"The Democrats' weakness and their unwillingness to buck the fringe members of their party dragged this harmful shutdown on for seven weeks and inflicted massive pain onto the American public," she said.
She added that the "clean" continuing resolution that lawmakers are voting on today in the House of Representatives "will lead to the reopening of the federal government" and "is what President Trump and Republicans have supported from day one".
House Speaker Mike Johnson kept the chamber out of session for the last seven weeks to focus pressure on Senate Democrats to make a shutdown deal.
Once the Senate reached a deal on the funding package, he urged lawmakers to immediately start returning immediately to Washington ahead of today's vote.
But members of Congress face the same flight delays and cancellations that have plagued other Americans during the spending impasse.
From yesterday, the mandatory reduction in US flights imposed by the Federal Aviation Administration increased from 4% to 6%.
The cuts to domestic travel came in at the nation's busiest airports in an effort to reduce the workload on air traffic controllers who are working without pay during the shutdown.
Many have been calling in sick, leaving those in control towers struggling to cope with the usual number of flights per day, which in turn has led to lengthy delays.
Record-cold temperatures and heavy snow have also hit the Great Lakes region in the Midwest, adding to the delays.
Even when the shutdown ends, it could take a long time for air travel to return to normal.
Adelita Grijalva is set to be sworn in tomorrow
When the House returns to vote on the shutdown, a new congresswoman will also be sworn in.
Democratic Rep Adelita Grijalva was elected seven weeks ago in a special election in the state of Arizona.
House Speaker Mike Johnson confirmed he will be swearing Grijalva in around 16:00 local time, just ahead of when votes are set to begin on the spending bill.
"After seven weeks of waiting, I almost can't believe it's true," she said in a video posted on social media.
She also took a moment to criticise the Republican-backed spending bill.
"I am really upset that one of the first votes I will take is on a bill that does nothing for the healthcare of the American people," she said.
Grijalva is actually stepping into the seat of her father, Raul Grijalva, who died earlier this year. She was elected on 23 September, but the House has not been in session since 19 September.
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