The House of Representatives is expected to vote Wednesday on legislation to reopen the federal government, putting an end to the longest shutdown in American history.

However, it won't just be the length of this shutdown that is remembered. It will also be the cost.

ADDING UP THE COSTS

It isn't necessarily easy to put a price tag on the federal government being shuttered since October 1. After all, families have struggled following the loss of food benefits and missed flights to family gatherings.

Wendy Edelberg knows something about the cost of shutdowns. For years, she served as the chief economist at the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. Edelberg calculated the loss of the last shutdown in 2018 and 2019.

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"It will be the most expensive shutdown in history," Edelberg said.

Estimates vary from group to group, but the estimated cost to the economy of this shutdown is anywhere between $10 billion and $15 billion.

"The part that we never get back is the work that these federal workers should have been doing if they had been on the job," Edelberg said.

Edelberg says when federal workers receive back pay, SNAP food assistance benefits are paid, airports return to normal, and the federal government begins buying again, the economy should rebound from the recent loss.

Edelberg fears the impacts of this shutdown may linger because of a demoralized federal workforce.

"If you have basically knee-capped the federal workforce, you can see a less productive federal government going forward," Ederlberg warns.

There has also been a political cost to this shutdown.

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On October 1, the approval rating for Congress was 28%, according to Real Clear Politics' polling average. As of November 10, it has dropped to 18%

That could affect politics in next year's midterms.

The health care impacts of this shutdown are relevant as well. After all, the deal to reopen the government did not produce any health insurance policy changes that Democrats fought for during the shutdown.

Expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies at the end of this year are projected to result in 4.2 million Americans dropping coverage because premium costs are too high, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

KFF, a health care policy group, estimates that Obamacare insurers are raising premiums on the insurance marketplace by 26% on average.

Frustration among Democrats on Capitol Hill is mounting after eight moderate senators broke ranks to support a Republican-led bill aimed at reopening the government without concessions on expiring health care subsidies.

The measure a short-term funding bill passed despite Democratic demands for an extension of Affordable Care Act tax credits to prevent steep health insurance cost increases next year.

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Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who opposed the bill, urged Democrats to not give up the fight. But his inability to stop eight members of his own party from backing the measure has fueled discontent within Democratic ranks.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is pressing Democrats in his chamber not to vote to advance the bill. He warned that the ACA subsidies, set to expire at the end of this year, now appear certain to lapse.

According to the nonpartisan health care policy foundation KFF, insurers are expected to raise premiums by an estimated 26% once the subsidies expire. No legislative fix appears imminent.

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Senate Majority Leader John Thune has pledged to hold a vote on extending the ACA tax credits. But Democrats call that promise meaningless, saying they expect no Republican support. Many GOP lawmakers have criticized the subsidies, which were created in 2021 under then-President Bidens American Rescue Plan and later extended under the Inflation Reduction Act.

While Democrats lost the fight to include the subsidies in the funding bill, they gained an issue for the 2026 midterm elections. Health care is likely to be a central theme as they aim to regain control of Congress.

The U.S. Senate voted late Sunday to advance a stopgap funding bill aimed at ending the federal government shutdown, now in its 41st day.

The bipartisan compromise between centrist Democrats and Republicans funds much of the government through January 30, 2026, ensures backpay for federal employees and reverses recent mass layoffs. The measure also secures funding for certain programs, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as SNAP or food stamps.

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While most Democrats opposed the weekend deal, enough joined Republicans to meet the 60-vote threshold needed to avoid a filibuster. The vote took place on a day when more than 2,000 airline flights were canceled nationwide and roughly 7,000 others were delayed.

The agreement does not extend subsidies tied to the Affordable Care Act a major priority for many Democrats during the shutdown. Without those subsidies, Americans face higher premiums as open enrollment begins.

President Donald Trump signaled over the weekend he would not support extending the subsidies, though Republicans have promised future votes on the issue. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York reiterated his opposition to the deal.

"We will not support spending legislation advanced by Senate Republicans that fails to extend the Affordable Health Care Act tax subsidies," Jeffries said in a statement. "We will fight the GOP bill in the House of Representatives, where [House Speaker] Mike Johnson will be compelled to end the seven week Republican taxpayer-funded vacation."

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For millions of Americans facing uncertainty over groceries, travel or paychecks, the Senates action is a welcome sign after weeks of political deadlock. With cloture invoked, the Senate now moves into limited debate before a final vote, which would only require a simple majority.

If approved, the package would then head to the House where Speaker Mike Johnson has not yet said whether he supports the framework before reaching President Donald Trumps desk.

The shutdown began on Oct. 1 and is now the longest in U.S. history. The Senate has held more than a dozen votes during the standoff, as Democrats insisted on protecting Affordable Care Act tax credits set to expire at years end, while Republicans argued that broader health care negotiations should come after the government reopens.