As of Saturday, Nov. 8, there have been 16 votes in the U.S. Senate on ending the federal shutdown that began Oct. 1.
Most of these votes have been to approve H.R. 5371, "a bill making continuing appropriations and extensions for fiscal year 2026, and for other purposes."
House Bill 5371 is described as a "clean resolution," which authorizes current spending from the federal budget as-is, with no other additions or subtractions.
There have been other bills related to the shutdown, notably Democrat-authored Senate Bill 2882, which is not a simple authorization to continue spending as-is, but which adds major budget items to the federal ledger as a condition for reopening the government. These add-ons include such things as making permanent Affordable Care Act tax subsidies that had been temporary and undoing portions of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Republicans defeated S.B. 2882, leaving 5371 as the only remaining path to ending the shutdown.
Democrats have consistently voted against the "clean resolution" in sufficient numbers to keep it from passing. Sixty votes are needed in the Senate to pass it.
Here's how U.S. senators Mazie Hirono and Brian Schatz voted for each of these two bills to end the shutdown:
October 1, 2025 — on H.R. 5371
- Mazie Hirono: No
- Brian Schatz: No
October 1 — on S. 2882
- Mazie Hirono: Yes
- Brian Schatz: Yes
October 3, 2025 — on H.R. 5371
- Mazie Hirono: No
- Brian Schatz: No
October 6 — on S. 2882
- Mazie Hirono: Yes
- Brian Schatz: Yes
October 6 — on H.R. 5371
- Mazie Hirono: No
- Brian Schatz: No
October 8 — on S. 2882
- Mazie Hirono: Yes
- Brian Schatz: Yes
October 8 — on H.R. 5371
- Mazie Hirono: No
- Brian Schatz: No
October 9 — on S. 2882
- Mazie Hirono: Yes
- Brian Schatz: Yes
October 9, 2025 — on H.R. 5371
- Mazie Hirono: No
- Brian Schatz: No
October 14 — on H.R. 5371
- Mazie Hirono: No
- Brian Schatz: No
October 15 — on H.R. 5371
- Mazie Hirono: No
- Brian Schatz: No
October 16 — on H.R. 5371
- Mazie Hirono: No
- Brian Schatz: No
October 20 — on H.R. 5371
- Mazie Hirono: No
- Brian Schatz: No
October 22 — on H.R. 5371
- Mazie Hirono: No
- Brian Schatz: No
October 28 — on H.R. 5371
- Mazie Hirono: No
- Brian Schatz: No
November 4 — on H.R. 5371
- Mazie Hirono: No
- Brian Schatz: No
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A. Kam Napier can be reached at kam@alohastatedaily.com.
