In the U.S. House of Representatives, a bill to reopen the government usually needs a simple majority of the members who are present and voting to pass. In today’s 435‑member House, that typically means at least 218 votes if all seats are filled and everyone votes.

Core vote requirement

  • Most government funding or “continuing resolution” bills are ordinary legislation, so they pass if they get more “yes” than “no” votes.
  • With a full House (435 members), that works out to 218 votes if everyone is present; if some members are absent or there are vacancies, the required number can be slightly lower, because it is a majority of those actually voting, not a fixed 218 every time.

Real‑world example

  • In the November 2025 shutdown fight, the House voted on a funding package to reopen the government, and it passed by 222–209.
  • That 222 “yes” vote total cleared the simple‑majority threshold in a House that then had 219 Republicans, 214 Democrats, and two vacant seats.

Why people hear “60 votes”

  • The “60 votes” figure people talk about usually refers to the Senate , not the House.
  • In the Senate, ending a filibuster on a bill to reopen the government generally requires 60 votes for cloture , which is why news coverage often says a shutdown‑ending bill “needs 60 votes” even though the House side only needs a simple majority.

TL;DR: In the House, reopening the government takes a simple majority (usually 218 votes), while the higher “60‑vote” number applies to the Senate’s procedural rules, not the House.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.