WASHINGTON, November 12, 2025: With over 143,000 El Pasoans still facing food insecurity because of the federal shutdown and around 13,000 El Paso federal workers not receiving paychecks since the beginning of last month, the approaching end to the federal shutdown is welcome news.
This is what you need to know about the possible end to the federal shutdown.
After the Senate voted to end the federal shutdown on Monday, the House is expected to vote later today to reopen the government. The Senate vote did not include the key demand by the Democrats that healthcare benefits under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) be extended. ACA tax credits will be expiring on December 31 if Congress does not extend them by then.
The Senate’s vote, if approved by the House and signed by the president only funds the government through January 30, 2026. Some federal agencies like Veterans Affairs will be funded through the end of their fiscal year. SNAP benefits will be funded through September 2026.
SNAP benefits will be restored as soon as the president signs the expected legislation.
Federal workers on furlough and those who were fired will be expected to return to work as soon as the bill is signed by the White House. A provision in the Senate legislation rehires federal workers that were fired by the White House during the shutdown. Back pay for federal workers could start to arrive as soon as today if the House votes to end the shutdown. Although federal paychecks may initially be around 60% of the expected amounts.
However, air traffic slowdowns caused by air traffic controllers refusing to work without paychecks will continue to disrupt travel. The air travel disruption could affect House members’ return to Congress to vote on ending the shutdown.
No word Yet From Congresswoman Veronica Escobar
No word yet from El Paso’s Congresswoman Veronica Escobar on the federal shutdown. Escobar’s last press release was last Friday. It was unrelated to the shutdown. Her last social media post was on Sunday. It did not reference the shutdown. Her last public comment about the shutdown was in late September when she posted in her Instagram account that the “Republicans control every branch of government,” adding that “any government shutdown is a Republican shutdown.”
However, if Escobar returns in time today to cast a vote, she is expected to vote against reopening the government if the legislation does not include the Democrat’s main demand, the extension of the healthcare benefits that are expiring.
When Will The Vote At The House Take Place?
The House is expected to be reconvened at 10:00am this morning, El Paso time. The debate on reopening the government is not expected to start until around 2pm today. A vote is expected by the end of the day. It is likely that a final vote will not take place until late in the evening.
Democrats have signaled they will oppose any legislation that does not extend ACA benefits past December 31.
The Seven Democrats That Helped To End The Shutdown
Monday’s vote to end the federal shutdown at the Senate would not have been possible without the help of seven Democrats. The seven were joined by Independent Angus King (I-ME). King frequently caucuses with the Democrats.
The seven Democrats were Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) who was joined by colleague Maggie Hassan (D-NH). Former vice presidential candidate, Tim Kaine (D-VA) who was Hillary Clinton’s vice-presidential pick in 2016 also voted with the Republicans to end the shutdown. Also number two among the Democrats, Dick Durbin (D-IL) broke with the party and voted with the Republicans to end the shutdown. Joining them were Jackie Rosen (D-NV) and her colleague Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV). John Fetterman (D-PA) also voted with the Republicans.
Their votes with the Republicans led to angry outbursts from Democrats across the country.
Democrats Angry With Their Leadership
The key issue leading the Democrats to help shutdown the federal government were health benefits expiring at the end of the year. They did not get the extensions they demanded under the Senate vote. The House is expected to vote to reopen the government without the key Democrat demand even though the Republicans can only lose two votes before the stalemate resumes.
Progressive Democrats who led wins for the Democratic Party last Tuesday are angry with the party leadership. MoveOn, a key progressive organization, has called for Senate Minority Leader Schuck Schumer to step down.
Veronica Escobar has not said whether she will continue to support the party leadership after this loss.
This federal shutdown, now 43-days long, is the longest in America’s history.
This is a developing story and will be updated if more information becomes available.
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