WASHINGTON >> The Senate began its final votes Monday night on legislation to reopen the government, bringing the longest shutdown in history closer to an end after a small group of Democrats struck a deal with Republicans.

The shutdown could last a few more days as members of the House, which has been on recess since mid-September, return to Washington to vote on the legislation. President Donald Trump has signaled support for the bill, saying Monday that “we’re going to be opening up our country very quickly.”

Senators began debate on the bill just past nightfall. Senate Majority Leader John Thune set up a series of procedural votes and said he hoped final passage would take “hours not days.”

Speaker Mike Johnson summoned lawmakers to start returning to Washington “right now” given shutdown-related travel delays. He said he would issue an official notice for the House’s return once the Senate passes the legislation.

“We have to do this as quickly as possible,” Johnson said at a news conference. He has kept the House out of session since mid-September, when the House passed a bill to continue government funding.

After weeks of negotiations, the moderate Senate Democrats agreed to reopen the government without a guaranteed extension of health care subsidies, angering many in their caucus who have demanded that Republicans negotiate with them on the Affordable Care Act tax credits that expire Jan. 1. Thune, R-S.D., promised a mid-December vote on the subsidies, but there was no guarantee of success.

Health care subsidy vote fails

In a possible preview, the Senate voted 47-53 along party lines Monday not to extend the subsidies for a year. Majority Republicans allowed the vote as part of a separate deal with Democrats to speed up votes and send the legislation to the House.

Stalemate ends after 5 Dems switch votes

A group of three former governors — New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, New Hampshire Sen. Maggie Hassan and Independent Sen. Angus King of Maine — broke the six-week stalemate on Sunday when they agreed to vote to advance three bipartisan annual spending bills and extend the rest of government funding until late January.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York has voted against moving ahead with the package, along with most of his Democratic colleagues.

The legislation includes a reversal of the mass firings of federal workers by the Trump administration since the shutdown began on Oct. 1. It also protects federal workers against further layoffs through January and guarantees they are paid once the shutdown is over.

In addition to Shaheen, King and Hassan, Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, home to tens of thousands of federal workers, also voted in favor of moving forward on the agreement. Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, the No. 2 Democrat, Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman and Nevada Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen also voted yes.

The moderates had expected a larger number of Democrats to vote with them as 10-12 Democratic senators had been part of the negotiations. But in the end, only five switched their votes — the exact number that Republicans needed. King, Cortez Masto and Fetterman had already been voting to open the government since Oct. 1.

The agreement includes bipartisan bills worked out by the Senate Appropriations Committee to fund parts of government — food aid, veterans programs and the legislative branch, among other things.

Many Democrats call the vote a “mistake”

Schumer, who received blowback from his party in March when he voted to keep the government open, said he could not “in good faith” support it after meeting with his caucus for more than two hours on Sunday. Massachusetts Sens. Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren also voted against the deal.

“We will not give up the fight,” Schumer said, adding that Democrats have now “sounded the alarm” on health care.