Sen. Rand Paul wants a vote on his amendment to strike language from a shutdown-ending spending deal that would “unfairly target Kentucky’s hemp industry” before allowing the bill to clear the Senate, a spokesperson for the Kentucky Republican confirmed Monday. Paul’s objection to allowing the package to proceed without the vote is slowing down Senate GOP leaders as they race to end the 41-day shutdown. Without unanimous consent from all 100 senators, it could take the Senate much of the week to move through procedural voter before sending it to the House for final approval and President Donald Trump’s signature. Paul’s insistence on the hemp vote comes after a bruising fight with Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.) — both senior appropriators — over the language that would crack down on intoxicating hemp products. Paul’s one-page amendment would effectively preserve the status quo. Spokesperson Gabrielle Lipsky said in a statement said Paul “affirms his commitment to reopening the government without delay” and said the hemp provision he is seeking to strike “is unrelated to the budget and the government-reopening goal.” Paul wants a simple-majority vote on the measure, she added in response to a question from POLITICO; GOP senators and aides granted anonymity to describe internal Senate dynamics believe it’s unlikely to garner enough support for adoption. Lipsky added that Paul intends to “work to ensure that the final bill excludes this unrelated language in order to defend the livelihoods of Kentucky farmers, hemp processors, and manufacturing jobs.”

An end to the longest government shutdown in U.S. history is finally in sight following a bipartisan breakthrough. Here’s what comes next after the Senate took a critical procedural step Sunday night. WHEN THE SENATE WILL WRAP — It’s possible the Senate passes the deal Monday, depending on whether leaders can secure unanimous consent to speed ahead. Getting to the finish line will require amending the House-passed continuing resolution to include three full-year appropriations bills for a number of programs plus a new CR for the rest of the government through Jan. 30. Conversations are ongoing about accelerating the timing. Key players to watch are progressive senators who blasted the deal as well as Sen. Rand Paul, who is upset over the impact the agriculture appropriations piece of the bill would have on hemp. Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters following Sunday night’s vote that it “remains to be seen” how quickly the Senate will be able to get to a final vote on the deal, including if senators will agree to yield back time Monday. Paul wants a vote to remove the hemp language and a “guarantee,” according to Thune, that it will be successful. “We’ll see how motivated people are [Monday],” Thune said. TRUMP AND THE HOUSE — The House GOP leadership circle expects to pass the deal once Trump leans on House Republicans to back it. House Republican leaders plan to give 36 hours’ notice to members before voting. Senior Senate Republicans worked behind the scenes with House Republicans through several issues during negotiations, but GOP hardliners are expected to grumble about pieces of the funding bill. While many House Democrats will likely come out against it, a handful of centrist Democrats could consider voting for the plan. Keep an eye on purple-district Democrats including Reps. Jared Golden, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez and Henry Cuellar. Golden voted for the original House-passed CR. Cuellar praised the compromise on X, saying: “It’s past time to put country over party and get our government working again for the American people.” What else we’re watching: — A bipartisan duo’s ACA proposal: Reps. Sam Liccardo (D-Calif.) and Kevin Kiley (R-Calif.) are releasing a bill Monday that would extend expiring Affordable Care Act tax credits for two years. Unlike legislation from Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-Va.) that would enact a clean extension, the bill from Liccardo and Kiley would cap eligibility for the credits at those making six times poverty-level income. For a family of four, that would be $192,900. In a bid to “pay for” the legislation, the bill would target “upcoding” in Medicare Advantage and impose new penalties on brokers who submit false applications to enroll in the ACA. — House movement on stock trading limits: Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) says that Speaker Mike Johnson confirmed to her that the House would begin to move forward on proposed bipartisan stock trading restrictions once the government reopens. The bill, which many Republican House members oppose because of the impacts on lawmakers’ finances, would face an uncertain fate in the House, and there’s skepticism from Johnson’s leadership circle on how to pass it. Johnson has pledged in private conversations to work on the issue. Mia McCarthy and Benjamin Guggenheim contributed reporting.

Lawmakers have released text for one piece of a three-bill government funding package — a key ingredient in a possible deal to end the shutdown that’s going on for 40 days. The first piece of the three-part legislation, released Sunday, would fund programs and benefits for veterans, as well as Defense Department construction projects, for the 2026 fiscal year. Portions of the so-called minibus that would fund the Department of Agriculture and the operations of Congress through the end of the current fiscal year are still being finalized. Passed on its own, the package would not reopen all federal programs or deliver on Democrats’ demand for an extension of expiring health insurance subsidies. But top lawmakers see it as a significant demonstration of bipartisan compromise that could help break the shutdown impasse after nearly six weeks of partisan sparring. Senate Republicans are expected to meet Sunday afternoon once the full minibus text is released to review and discuss the compromise spending legislation. “We plan to vote today” to reconsider the House-passed stopgap spending bill, Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters Sunday. Thune has proposed combining the three-bill bundle with a separate stopgap to fund the remaining federal agencies, potentially running into late January. The minibus has for weeks been a subject of cross-party conversations aimed at finding a path out of the shutdown. Those talks have centered on a new stopgap linked to the full-year bills, plus a vote to continue the Obamacare subsidies that will expire Dec. 31 and are used by more than 20 million people who buy health insurance in Affordable Care Act marketplaces. Thune has pointed to the release of the minibus text as an “opportunity” for Democrats to “firm up their views” on whether or not to support reopening the government. Lead Art: Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) speaks with reporters as she arrives for a Senate Republican Conference meeting at the U.S. Capitol on the 38th day of a government shutdown, Nov. 7, 2025. | Francis Chung/POLITICO