President Donald Trump has signed a temporary budget bill that ends the longest government shutdown in US history. He approved the measure just hours after the House of Representatives voted 222 to 209 on Wednesday night. The Senate had narrowly passed the same legislation two days earlier after days of tense debate.
Speaking in the Oval Office, Trump said the government would “resume normal operations” after “people were hurt so badly” during the 43-day closure. Since October, most federal services had been halted. Around 1.4 million government employees were either on unpaid leave or working without pay. Food assistance programs were frozen, and air travel across the country was heavily disrupted.
Federal operations begin to restart
Government agencies are expected to reopen within days, easing pressure ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. Air travel should also stabilize as the Federal Aviation Administration restores normal staffing levels. The agency had reduced flights nationwide because of severe staff shortages caused by the shutdown.
The closure even affected lawmakers trying to return to Washington. Wisconsin Republican Derrick Van Orden rode his motorcycle nearly 1,000 miles to cast his vote in the House before the bill reached the president’s desk.
The new measure only keeps the government funded until 30 January, forcing Congress to negotiate again soon to avoid another shutdown.
Trump blames Democrats for political stalemate
Before signing the bill, Trump accused Democrats of triggering the crisis. “They did it purely for political reasons,” he said, warning voters not to forget “what they’ve done to our country” in upcoming elections.
Democrats, despite being the minority in the Senate, managed to block an earlier funding bill. Republicans were seven votes short of the 60 needed to pass it. Democrats had refused to support the measure unless Republicans agreed to extend health insurance subsidies for low-income Americans, which are set to expire at the end of the year.
Republicans argued that healthcare could be addressed later. On Sunday, eight Senate Democrats broke with their party and voted for the spending deal in exchange for a promise of a December vote on the subsidies.
That decision sparked anger among Democrats and drew criticism from House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and California Governor Gavin Newsom.
Party divisions widen over healthcare
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said the agreement “fails to do anything of substance to fix America’s healthcare crisis.” But Virginia Senator Tim Kaine, one of the Democrats who supported the deal, defended his vote. He said federal workers in his state were “saying thank you” for reopening the government and restoring their paychecks.
Just hours before the House vote, Democrats welcomed a new member, Adelita Grijalva, who was finally sworn in after weeks of delay. She had been elected on 23 September but could not take office earlier because the House had not been in session since 19 September. Grijalva now fills the seat once held by her late father, Raul Grijalva, who passed away earlier this year.
New congresswoman supports Epstein records petition
Democrats quickly asked Grijalva to back a petition calling for the release of documents tied to the late financier Jeffrey Epstein. The petition must remain open for seven legislative days before advancing. After that, House leaders are required to schedule a vote within two legislative days.
House Speaker Mike Johnson surprised lawmakers by announcing he would hold the vote next week.
What’s included in the funding deal
The agreement extends federal funding until 30 January and provides full-year funding for the Department of Agriculture, along with money for military construction projects and legislative agencies.
The bill guarantees back pay for all federal workers affected by the shutdown. It also funds the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which provides food aid to one in eight Americans, until next September.
The package includes a commitment for a December vote on extending healthcare subsidies — a key Democratic demand that had fueled weeks of partisan deadlock and prolonged the shutdown.
