US shutdown ends as Congress passes bill

International Desk Published: 23 January 2018, 10:30 AM | Updated: 23 January 2018, 10:31 AM

US shutdown ends as Congress passes bill

U.S. Capitol dome in Washington, D.C.

The US government partial shutdown is ending after Republicans and Democrats voted for a temporary funding bill, reports BBC.

The Democratic leadership agreed to back the bill after accepting promises from Republicans for a debate later on the future of young illegal immigrants.

President Donald Trump, who signed the bill on Monday evening, took a swipe at Democrats.

It is the fourth temporary measure since October because Capitol Hill cannot agree a longer-term budget.

The spending bill passed the Senate by 81-18 and the House of Representatives by 266-150 earlier on Monday.

The so-called continuing resolution keeps the government funded until 8 February in the hope that Congress can reach a longer-term budget agreement in the meantime.

Thousands of federal employees who had been placed on temporary, unpaid leave since Saturday breathed a sigh of relief.

"It was essentially a lunch break," Tom Chapel, a scientist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia, told Reuters news agency.