--- title: Government Shutdown 2018 Senate Vote: Watch Online description: After two full days of a government shutdown, the Senate is expected to vote on a bill that could end the stalemate. canonical: https://time.com/5112377/government-shutdown-2018-senate-vote/ author: Alana Abramson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-01-22T16:08:08.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T18:57:38.991Z article:section: Politics og:title: Watch Live as Senators Vote on Ending the Government Shutdown og:description: The government has been shut down for two days og:url: https://time.com/5112377/government-shutdown-2018-senate-vote/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4d051ed686d08985/6988f8f5e76ad2649a630b3e/gettyimages-908544070.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5000 og:image:height: 2813 og:image:alt: The Federal Government In Its Second Day Of A Shutdown Amid A Spending-Bill Impasse In Congress og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Watch Live as Senators Vote on Ending the Government Shutdown twitter:description: The government has been shut down for two days twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4d051ed686d08985/6988f8f5e76ad2649a630b3e/gettyimages-908544070.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Watch Live as Senators Vote on Ending the Government Shutdown > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Jan 22, 2018 4:08 PM UTC  Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky, walks to the Senate Chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Sunday, Jan. 21, 2018. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky, walks to the Senate Chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Sunday, Jan. 21, 2018. Andrew Harrer—Bloomberg/Getty Images  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Jan 22, 2018 4:08 PM UTC After two full days of a partial government shutdown, the Senate is expected to vote on a bill that could be the first step in ending the stalemate. “Today at noon, every Senator can vote to end this government shutdown. We will vote to end this filibuster and advance instead a bipartisan bill that would put this whole mess behind us,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell wrote on Twitter. > [](https://twitter.com/SenateMajLdr/status/955456674717978629) > [](https://twitter.com/SenateMajLdr/status/955457737198096390) The bill, hammered out in negotiations on Sunday, would fund the government for three weeks — until February 8 — while lawmakers continue working on the budget. While the current bill does include funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program, commonly referred to as CHIP, it doesn’t include a solution on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program — a sticking point for the majority of Democrats who opposed the measure on Friday that led to a partial shutdown. McConnell has said he intends to take up immigration legislation if it has not been resolved by the time the resolution runs out. The question comes down to whether this guarantee will be enough for Democrats. The bill needs 60 votes to pass, so Republicans need 9 Democrats to join them if they have no defections from their own party. On Friday, when the bill failed 50-49, five Republicans joined the 44 Democrats who voted against the measure. “This immigration debate will have a level playing field at the outset, and an amendment process that is fair to all sides. And it would be my strong preference for the Senate to consider a proposal that can be signed into law,” McConnell said on the floor Monday. Even if the Senate manages to pass the bill, however, it won’t automatically become law. It would need to pass the House of Representatives before landing on President Trump’s desk. 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