The House is expected to vote today on a bill to end the 42-day government shutdown, after the Senate Monday night approved a continuing resolution (CR) until January 30, 2026, along with provisions to reinstate federal workers who lost their jobs due to reductions in force (RIFs), and a minibus appropriations package comprising the Military Construction-Veterans Affairs, Agriculture (which includes the FDA), and Legislative Branch FY2026 spending bills. The House will be voting for the first time since September 19, having been out of session for the past seven weeks.

The Monday Senate vote followed a Sunday night deal to provide the required Democratic votes to reach the chamber's 60-vote threshold (and where there are currently 53 Republicans and 47 members who caucus with Democrats). "This short-term continuing resolution would reopen government immediately, provide back pay to all federal workers, and fund important federal programs on which many Americans rely. The three full-year appropriations bills would support veterans, troops, farmers, and rural communities in Maine and across the country," Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins (R-ME) said. The package includes health extenders such as telehealth flexibility.

The Senate CR deal included a promise by Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) to hold a vote by the end of the second week of December on a bill of Democrats' choosing to extend enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) premium tax credits expiring at the end of 2025. Allowing for only the promise of a vote is an approach that has divided Democrats, as many had pushed for an extension of ACA subsidies to be attached to any measure reopening the government. But senior Democrats are vowing to mend their own divisions before an ACA credits vote is held. "We're going to be completely unified, and then the Republicans are going to have their own sense of division," said Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA), one of the group of centrists who voted with Republicans to end the shutdown, in a Semafor report.

The final-passage vote on Monday night was 60-40, with the same eight crossover votes that were provided for Sunday's procedural votes: Maggie Hassan (D-NH); Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH); Angus King (I-ME), an independent who caucuses with Democrats; Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV); John Fetterman (D-PA); Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL); Kaine; and Jacky Rosen (D-NV).

Following the Monday vote, the Senate recessed for Veterans Day and the remainder of the week. The chamber had been in session for six consecutive weeks, and for eight straight days. Next votes are at 5:30 p.m., on Tuesday, November 18. During Monday's session, Leader Thune took a procedural step (i.e., filed cloture) on the nomination of Donald Korb to be chief counsel for the Internal Revenue Service and an assistant general counsel in the Treasury Department.

Health care — There is already a focus on the December Senate vote to extend ACA subsidies, amid expectations there could be competing Democratic and Republican proposals, and perhaps some "guardrails" relative to the current credits. For instance, Axios reported Senator Shaheen as saying she is open to an income cap (perhaps $200,000) and a minimum premium payment to fight fraud.

Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) said on CNN November 10, "We'll have a side-by-side bill when they get their vote on Obamacare subsidies … We've been working on this very, very hard for several years … " He posted on social media, "Republicans will have a healthcare bill by December that puts the American patient first again. And we will not be sending $150 billion subsidies to insurance companies anymore."

It's unclear whether Marshall was referring to Senate HELP Committee Chairman Bill Cassidy's (R-LA) Friday remarks that, "Instead of paying insurance companies to manage our money, let's trust Americans to manage their own care — with a pre-funded Federal Flexible Spending Account." The Bloomberg Daily Tax Report said this morning, "Senate Finance Republicans met Monday to discuss the expiring credits," and while Cassidy pitched his plan, it is still a work in progress as he acknowledged, "I started talking about this two days ago."

President Trump seemed to reference that idea in a weekend social media post — "I believe that the money should go directly to THE PEOPLE to purchase better Healthcare, and create competition" — and there is the general feeling that the President must get involved in the health subsidies issue to give Republicans in Congress direction. In addition to Senators Marshall and Cassidy, Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-ID) and Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) will be among those leading talks with Democrats on the ACA credits, Leader Thune announced Monday, according to Politico. The report said Republicans are split between wanting a new concept, as espoused by Senator Cassidy, and reforms for the current credits.

Elections — House Budget Committee Chairman and Ways and Means Committee member Jodey Arrington (R-TX) announced November 11 that he will not run for re-election in 2026. He cited the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" (OBBBA) as a high note to go out on. "It was a very unique, generational impact opportunity, to be almost 10 years into this and to have the budget chairmanship, and to lead the charge to successfully pass that and to help this president fulfill his mandate from the people," Arrington said in a Fox News report. "It just seems like a good and right place to leave it." Chairman Arrington has drawn praise from committee Democrats for his handling of the panel.

In July, Chairman Arrington said Republicans plan to consider another reconciliation bill in the fall and maybe another next year. Those plans for reconciliation seem up in the air, along with the rest of the agenda, as Congress comes out of the shutdown and into a year-end legislative stretch. Senate Budget Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is advocating for a second reconciliation bill to focus on health care issues, while Finance Chairman Crapo is holding out for a bipartisan health care plan.

IRS — Revenue Procedure 2025-31 released on Monday, November 10, describes a safe harbor for trusts that otherwise qualify as investment trusts and grantor trusts to stake their digital assets without jeopardizing their tax status as investment trusts and grantor trusts for Federal income tax purposes. The revenue procedure also provides a limited time period for an existing trust to amend its governing instrument to adopt the requirements of the safe harbor.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent posted on social media: "Today @USTreasury and the @IRSnews issued new guidance giving crypto exchange-traded products (ETPs) a clear path to stake digital assets and share staking rewards with their retail investors. This move increases investor benefits, boosts innovation, and keeps America the global leader in digital asset and blockchain technology."

The Bloomberg Daily Tax Report said the guidance "comes after the Treasury Department and IRS have received requests for guidance on staking, which is the process by which cryptocurrency holders lock up their tokens to validate transactions on the blockchain."

Friday, November 14, is the EY Webcast, "Tax in a Time of Transition." Register here.