The US Senate has taken its first step towards ending the country's longest-ever government shutdown.

A small group of moderate Democrats broke ranks to join Republicans in support of a compromise funding bill, leaving other Democrats furious.

The deal would reopen federal agencies and provide back pay to government workers, but it still needs to go to several more votes before the shutdown officially ends.

• Guest: EJ Dionne, New York Times contributor and a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution
• Producer: Anne Barker