President Donald Trump has signed a government funding bill into law, ending the longest government shutdown in United States history. The shutdown, lasting 43 days, had crippled several sectors of the American economy.
“Today, we are sending a clear message that we will never give in to blackmail,” Trump stated before signing the bill, surrounded by applauding Republican lawmakers in the Oval Office. He urged Americans to remember “what the Democrats did,” referring to the upcoming midterm elections next year.
The signing follows the passage of the bill by Congress, with the House of Representatives approving it by a narrow margin of 222 to 219. The legislation will reopen federal departments and agencies.
The bill funds the government through January 30th, including the resumption of suspended food assistance programs, payment of wages to hundreds of thousands of federal employees, and the restoration of the disrupted air traffic control system.
Approximately 670,000 furloughed government employees will return to work. A similar number, who continued working without pay, including over 60,000 air traffic controllers and airport security personnel, will receive their back pay.
Earlier, House Majority Leader Mike Johnson stated that the vote on the funding package would take place and urged colleagues from both parties to “think carefully and do the right thing in the end.”
Eight Democratic senators broke with their party leadership earlier in the week, allowing the temporary funding package to pass. This sparked sharp divisions within the Democratic Party, with many arguing that they should have insisted on extending federal health insurance subsidies that expire at the end of the year.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries stated that his party would introduce separate legislation to extend those subsidies for three years, adding that Republicans and Trump are “ignoring the country’s worsening cost of living crisis.” The shutdown’s end comes after recent Democratic victories in local elections. The focus now shifts to long-term budget negotiations.
