Washington, 10 November 2025 (dpa/MIA) - Republicans and Democrats late on Sunday took a first concrete step towards passing a US federal budget and putting an end to the government shutdown that has been in place for nearly six weeks.

The Senate, with the support of some Democrats, voted 60-40 in favour of debating a transitional budget proposed by the House of Representatives late on Sunday. Earlier, Republicans and centrist Democrats in the Senate had agreed on the main points of a compromise.

While the vote marks a political breakthrough, it does not immediately put an end to the shutdown.

Republicans currently hold a narrow majority in the Senate with 53 of the upper chamber's 100 seats. However, at least 60 votes were needed to advance the procedural vote.

Seven Democrats and one independent senator voted to advance the package, while Rand Paul was the lone Republican senator to vote against it.

The influential Democratic minority leader in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, was among the Democrats who voted no.

Earlier on Sunday, Democratic Senator Tim Kaine, who voted for the package, wrote on X that the deal includes a vote on lowering health insurance contributions - a demand pushed by the Democrats. It would also ensure that federal employees laid off during the shutdown are reinstated and receive back pay.

"I have long said that to earn my vote, we need to be on a path toward fixing Republicans' health care mess and to protect the federal workforce," Kaine said in a statement.

Because Democrats and Republicans in Congress have been unable to agree on a budget, large parts of regular government operations have been paralyzed since early October.

Now that the Senate has agreed on the package, the draft will need to be approved once again by the lower chamber of Congress, the House of Representatives. Depending on how much resistance it faces within both parties, the process could take several days.

MIA file photo