How the longest government shutdown in history came to an end

Washington — The longest government shutdown in history came to an end on Wednesday after 43 days and more than a dozen attempts to reopen the government.

Here's how the shutdown started, and eventually came to an end:

A Senate standoff

The standoff began in late September as lawmakers faced a deadline to fund the government by the start of a new fiscal year on Oct. 1. House Republicans passed a short-term funding measure on Sept. 19 to keep the government funded at existing levels until Nov. 21. But with Democratic support needed to move forward with any funding measure in the Senate, the chamber was at an impasse.

The top Democrats in Congress had been pushing since August to meet with GOP leaders and the White House on the funding issue, ramping up their calls to address ex