A deal aimed at ending the US government shutdown has passed the Senate, paving the way for the record-breaking impasse to be broken.

After a weekend of negotiations in Washington, a minority of Democrats joined with Republicans and voted in favour of an agreement.

The vote is a procedural first step towards passing a compromise to fund the government since it ran out of money 1 October.

It will need to clear several more hurdles - including a vote from the House of Representatives - before federal employees and services return, but it is the first serious sign of progress after 40 days of deadlock.

The current shutdown is the longest on record in the US, and until this weekend it appeared that Republican and Democratic lawmakers were locked in a stalemate.

Many government services have been suspended since October, and around 1.4 million federal employees are on unpaid leave or working without pay.

The shutdown has also has wide ranging impacts on a variety of services, including US air travel and food benefits for 41 million low-income Americans.

The agreement was negotiated between Senate Majority Leader John Thune and the White House, with Democratic senators Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, and Angus King of Maine, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats.

Republicans - who hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate - needed the measure to clear a 60-vote minimum threshold.

They were able attract eight votes from the other side of the aisle, while losing just one in Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, who voted against after saying the bill would increase national debt.