Congress votes to end shutdown. NC Democrat breaks with party in vote for bill
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Congress votes to fund government through Jan. 30, ending 43-day shutdown.
- Senate coalition of eight Democrats and 52 Republicans passed the bill.
- Bill omits ACA subsidy extension; North Carolina Democrats warn of cost hikes.
The government will reopen after the House voted Wednesday night to keep the government funded at its current levels through Jan. 30, ending the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.
The 222-209 vote came after six Democrats broke with their party to vote for the resolution, including North Carolina’s Rep. Don Davis, a Democrat from Snow Hill.
President Donald Trump signed the bill into law around 10:20 p.m. Wednesday.
“With my signature the federal government will now resume normal operations,” Trump said, before signing the document with his marker.
The bill forces Trump to reemploy workers he fired during the shutdown and to provide back pay to government workers who haven’t received a paycheck since Oct. 1.
For the past 43 days, Democrats tried to use the government shutdown as a means to bring Republicans to the negotiating table to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies set to expire at the end of the year. Without an act of Congress, Americans could see their health care coverage costs rise as much as 400%. And even those not covered under the subsidies could expect a trickle-down effect as health care companies try to make up for business lost by those who no longer can afford care.
Democrats believed that backlash from increased costs seen earlier this month as open enrollment began might prompt Republicans to negotiate, but Senate Republicans worked with eight Democratic Caucus members who split with their party to pass a bill without any ACA subsidy extensions.
House Democrats filed a discharge petition Wednesday night to force a vote to expand ACA subsidy extensions. It needed 218 signatures to make it to the floor, but had only 150 signatures when the House voted on the CR. All four of North Carolina’s Democrats signed the petition.
And in a series of votes that began Sunday night, North Carolina’s Republicans all voted in favor of the bill that reopened the government. North Carolina’s three other Democrats voted against the bill Wednesday night.
In a statement after Wednesday’s vote, Davis explained why he voted with Republicans and said he vowed to keep fighting for healthcare.
“Families in Eastern North Carolina must remain the priority, which is why I initially voted against the original continuing resolution in the hopes of sincere discussions on extending the ACA premium tax credits,” Davis said in a written statement. “An increasing numbers of families have shared with me that they have been suffering daily over the past 49 days and 15 rounds of votes in the Senate, as many families in North Carolina’s First Congressional District are dealing with high costs and limited resources.”
Rep. Pat Harrigan, a Republican from Hickory, said in a news release Wednesday night that the vote allows the country to move forward.
“This vote finally brings relief to hardworking Americans who were caught in the middle of a political standoff they never asked for,” Harrigan said. “It gets people paid, keeps our economy moving, and protects programs families rely on. Now that we’ve broken the gridlock, it’s time to get back to work and keep delivering for the people who sent us here.”
The impact
At 43 days, this year’s shutdown surpassed the 35-day shutdown during Trump’s first term. It proved to be more punishing than the first with a president willing to fire workers, cut off access to food for everyday Americans and suspend funding to ongoing projects in states led by Democrats.
Davis was at least one North Carolina lawmaker who shared on social media on Nov. 6 what constituents told him they were facing as they began to sign up for open enrollment.
One woman in the Democrat’s 1st Congressional District now must pay $27,000 per year for coverage. Some are being forced to switch doctors or plans. They’re taking out home equity lines of credit, getting second jobs or getting loans from their 401(k). And some are foregoing health care coverage altogether.
Concerns like these led Davis’ colleagues on the left to dig in their heels, refusing to pass a continuing resolution through Nov. 21, despite the pain many Americans felt during the shutdown.
Finding the votes
But eight Senate Democrat Caucus members worked with Republicans over the weekend to pass a new version of the continuing resolution that funds the Agriculture-FDA, Legislative Branch and Military Construction-Veteran Affairs budgets — and continues nine others at current levels through Jan. 30, meaning negotiations would need to start again for those areas.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a Republican, promised to bring a vote on ACA subsidies to the Senate floor in December in exchange for the votes of New Hampshire’s Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan, Illinois’ Dick Durbin, Virginia’s Tim Kaine, Maine’s Angus King, Pennsylvania’s John Fetterman, and Nevada’s Jacky Rosen and Catherine Cortez Masto — all Democrats.
On Monday, those eight Democrat Caucus members voted with the Senate’s 52 Republicans to push the CR past the chamber’s 60-vote threshold and pass the bill.
Because this version of the bill originated in the Senate, it had to go back before the House, where Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, has not promised a vote on ACA subsidies.
Democrats react
Rep. Deborah Ross, a Democrat from Raleigh, called the bill a “betrayal” to the thousands of North Carolina families on the verge of losing health care coverage.
“The bill approved by the House tonight does nothing to bring down health care costs for people in our state.,” said Rep. Deborah Ross, a Democrat from Raleigh, in a written statement Wednesday. “Democrats are ready and willing to work in a bipartisan way to address the health care affordability crisis in America. If Republicans fail to extend ACA tax credits before the end of the year, they alone own the consequences.”
Rep. Valerie Foushee, a Democrat from Orange County, wouldn’t say how she would vote as she headed back to Washington, but a statement sent by her office Wednesday night showed her mindset when she cast her vote.
“Health care is a right, and every American deserves access to affordable, high-quality care. I will continue to fight in every way possible to lower everyday costs and expand access to healthcare. Any budget proposal that ignores this, like the one we voted on today, is simply insufficient.”
The House returns
The government was in its 43rd day of being shut down Wednesday when the House returned to Washington for the first time since Sept. 19.
Democrats, who often were in Washington throughout the shutdown, continually welcomed Republicans back from their “eight weeks of taxpayer-funded vacation.”
After hearing the comment too many times in a Rules Committee meeting Tuesday night, Rep. Virginia Foxx, the committee’s chairwoman and a Republican from Banner Elk, responded, “I am sick and tired of hearing you all say we had an eight-week vacation. I worked every day.”
The comment went viral.
Johnson had canceled all business before the House since mid-September, arguing that his chamber passed a continuing resolution without any gimmicks in it that would upset Democrats. He said that the Senate should vote in favor of the bill.
When the Senate finally returned the bill to the House, Johnson gave 36 hours notice for members to return to Washington. Exact timing of a vote wasn’t clear due to snarled air traffic across the country.
How did NC lawmakers vote to end shutdown?
Here’s how N.C. House members voted Nov. 12, 2025, for H.R. 5371.
- Rep. Alma Adams (D): No
- Rep. Don Davis (D): Yes
- Rep. Chuck Edwards (R): Yes
- Rep. Valerie Foushee (D): No
- Rep. Virginia Foxx (R): Yes
- Rep. Pat Harrigan (R): Yes
- Rep. Mark Harris (R): Yes
- Rep. Richard Hudson (R): Yes
- Rep. Brad Knott (R): Yes
- Rep. Addison McDowell (R): Yes
- Rep. Tim Moore (R): Yes
- Rep. Greg Murphy (R): Yes
- Rep. Deborah Ross (D): No
- Rep. David Rouzer (R): Yes
This story was originally published November 12, 2025 at 8:52 PM.
