Washington (AFP) - The US Senate took a major step Sunday toward ending the longest government shutdown in American history when it cleared the way for a formal debate on a motion to resume funding to federal agencies.

The Republican-led chamber approved a procedural vote by 60 votes to 40, putting a hard limit on how much longer senators can discuss the legislative measure.

It gave lawmakers a maximum of 30 more hours to conduct debate before voting on the motion, which will only need 50 votes to pass.

It will still need approval from the Republican-controlled House of Representatives before it lands on President Donald Trump’s desk – a process which could take days.

But the development represents significant progress toward ending a government shutdown that has dragged on for over 40 days, halted funding to federal programs and disrupted air travel and other essential industries.

The breakthrough came after Republican and Democratic lawmakers reached a stopgap agreement to fund the government through January, after wrangling over healthcare subsidies, food benefits and Trump’s firings of federal employees.

As the news emerged, Trump told reporters when he arrived at the White House after a weekend at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida: “It looks like we’re getting very close to the shutdown ending.”

Democratic Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia was among the eight who joined Republicans to support the measure, saying: “I need a moratorium on the punishing of the federal workforce.”

Virginia is home to 300,000 federal workers, and the deal would restore all furloughed employees and reverse reductions-in-force layoffs by the Trump administration.

The bill to keep the government funded at pre-shutdown levels “will protect federal workers from baseless firings, reinstate those who have been wrongfully terminated during the shutdown, and ensure federal workers receive back pay” as required by law, Kaine added.

Fellow Democrat Chuck Schumer could not be persuaded and voted against the measure, saying that “Republicans have spent the past 10 months dismantling the healthcare system, skyrocketing costs, and making every day harder for American families.”

But Republican Senator John Thune celebrated the win, and what it could mean for Americans facing intense financial strain.

“After 40 days of uncertainty, I’m profoundly glad to be able to announce that nutrition programs, our veterans, and other critical priorities will have their full-year funding,” Thune said.

- Federal services in demand -

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said earlier Sunday that if the shutdown continued, the number of flights being cut would multiply – even as Americans gear up to travel for the Thanksgiving holiday later this month.

Duffy warned that US air travel could soon “slow to a trickle,” as thousands more flights were canceled or delayed over the weekend.

The number of cancellations both within the United States as well as to and from the country had surpassed 3,000, with more than 10,000 delays, by Sunday evening, according to data from tracking platform FlightAware.

Without a deal, Duffy warned that many Americans planning to travel for the November 27 Thanksgiving holiday are “not going to be able to get on an airplane, because there are not going to be that many flights that fly if this thing doesn’t open back up.”

It could take days for flight schedules to recover after the shutdown finally ends and federal funding, including salaries, starts to flow again.

According to lawmakers, the bill would restore funding for the SNAP food stamp program which helps more than 42 million lower-income Americans pay for groceries.

It would also ensure a vote on extending healthcare subsidies that are set to expire at the end of this year.

Many Democrats in the House and beyond the beltway have opposed the deal.

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez pointed out that the average monthly SNAP benefit is $177 per beneficiary and the average monthly healthcare benefit under the Affordable Care Act is up to $550 per person.

“People want us to hold the line for a reason. This is not a matter of appealing to a base. It’s about people’s lives,” the Democrat wrote on X.

“Working people want leaders whose word means something.”

Democratic California governor Gavin Newsom also panned the move with one word on X: “Pathetic.”