How the Senate overcame the longest shutdown stalemate in history

It took weeks of negotiations and a creeping sense of defeat before Democrats cracked in a bitter shutdown fight, but the makings of a deal were there even before government funding lapsed.

In what became a seven-week war of attrition, Republicans finally won over the eight crossover votes needed to clear a Senate filibuster and begin the process of reopening the government on Sunday night. The bill will not pass until later this week, as the House still needs to cast a final vote, but an emerging deal signaled that the end of the shutdown was near after more than 41 days of congressional gridlock.