The US Senate has passed a crucial funding bill that could bring the longest government shutdown in history to an end within days.
The bill passed in a 60-40 vote late on Monday, with nearly all Republicans joining eight Democrats who splintered from the party to approve it. The deal funds the government until the end of January.
The House of Representatives will now have to pass the bill before President Donald Trump can sign it into effect. Trump signalled he would be willing to do so earlier on Monday.
The deal came to fruition over the weekend, after some Democrats joined Republicans and negotiated an agreement to get federal employees back to work and essential services restarted.
Republicans - who hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate - needed the measure to clear the 60-vote minimum threshold.
Democratic Senators Dick Durbin, John Fetterman, Catherine Cortez Masto, Maggie Hassan, Tim Kaine, Jackie Rosen and Jeanne Shaheen broke from the rest of their party to vote in favour of the funding bill. They were joined by Maine's Angus King, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats, who also voted to reopen the government.
The shutdown has had wide-ranging impacts on a variety of services, including US air travel and food benefits for millions of low-income Americans. On Monday, over 2,400 flights across the US were cancelled and at least 9,000 were delayed.
The funding bill, which includes provisions ensuring federal workers are compensated for the time during the shutdown, will now go to the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, where discussions are set to begin on Wednesday.
The deal also guarantees funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) until next September and includes an agreement for a vote in December on extending healthcare subsidies. However, some high-profile Democrats criticized colleagues who supported it for lacking strong healthcare guarantees.
Trump expressed his readiness to sign the bill into law, emphasizing that the deal is favorable for the country.
