The U.S. Senate on Sunday moved toward a vote on reopening the federal government amid optimism that an end to the historic shutdown, now in its 40th day, is within reach. Senators plan to vote on advancing a House-passed stopgap funding bill as early as Sunday evening,

Senators are working through the weekend for the first time since the government shutdown began more than a month ago, hoping to find bipartisan resolution that has so far eluded them as government w...

But whether the plan will pick up enough support from Democrats to move forward remains to be seen.

As the Senate held a rare Sunday session, the Republican leader said a potential deal was “coming together” on the government shutdown.

The Senate on Friday failed to pass a bill to pay federal workers forced to work without pay during the government shutdown, with Democrats refusing to yield to GOP attempts to fund any parts of the federal government without major concessions for their party.

The federal government will extend its record-long close to 40 days after the Senate adjourned with no vote held on a possible budget deal on Saturday.

Another idea, promoted by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), is to unveil a Republican-drafted bill that would seek to lower rising health care costs — tackling the issue at the center of the battle over ...