President Donald Trump on Wednesday night signed a government funding bill that ends a record 43-day shutdown, reopening federal agencies that had been partially closed since October 1. The lapse in funding, the longest in U.S. history and longer than the 35-day partial shutdown of 2018–2019, halted basic federal services and left hundreds of thousands of federal employees either working without pay or furloughed, forcing many to rely on savings, credit or local charities.
Speaking from the Oval Office, Trump again blamed Democrats for the stalemate, accusing them of using federal workers and the public as leverage in a dispute over health-care policy and spending priorities. He urged voters not to forget the episode in future elections, portraying the shutdown as the result of what he described as Democratic refusal to compromise.
House Vote Exposes Partisan Tensions
The shutdown ended only after the House of Representatives approved the compromise bill on a largely party-line vote of 222–209, sending it to the White House just hours before the signing ceremony. The Senate had passed the measure earlier in the week, after a group of senators nudged leaders in both parties toward a deal to restore government operations. A handful of Democrats joined nearly all Republicans to support the bill, while two Republicans opposed it.
The core dispute involved enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credits that lower premiums for insurance purchased on government marketplaces. Democrats insisted the shutdown would not end unless the expiring credits were extended, warning that millions of people could face steep premium increases and coverage losses if Congress failed to act, while Republicans argued that health-care subsidies should be debated separately and accused Democrats of holding the broader budget hostage to a single policy demand. On the House floor,
Appropriations Committee Chair Tom Cole said shutdown fights had never produced gains that justified the damage they caused, while Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries backed the bill to reopen the government but vowed to keep pressing for a permanent extension of the tax credits.
What The Compromise Package Includes
The legislation reflects a compromise forged by eight senators who broke with Democratic leaders after concluding that Republicans would not accept a funding bill that immediately extended the tax credits. Under the deal, three annual spending bills receive full-year funding, while the rest of the government is kept open through January 30 under a short-term extension, setting up another deadline early next year.
For federal workers, the bill reverses a series of firings carried out during the shutdown, guarantees back pay, and bars most additional layoffs through January. It also secures money for the Agriculture Department, ensuring that nutrition programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) can continue operating without interruption for the remainder of the budget year.
Security provisions in the package allocate $203.5 million to bolster protection for members of Congress and another $28 million for safeguarding Supreme Court justices. Another provision allows senators to sue for up to $500,000 in damages per violation if their electronic records are searched by federal agencies without notice, language that appears tailored to lawmakers who believe their phone records may have been reviewed in probes related to Trump’s 2020 election loss. The clause has drawn criticism from both parties, and House Speaker Mike Johnson has promised a House vote to revisit the issue.
Health Care Battle Still Ahead
While the shutdown has ended, the policy fight that helped trigger it remains unsettled. As part of the deal, Senate leaders agreed to hold a vote by mid-December on whether to extend the enhanced ACA tax credits, but there is no assurance the extension will pass or that Trump would sign it. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that without the credits, average premiums for many marketplace enrollees would more than double, and that more than 2 million people could lose coverage as early as next year.
Some Republican senators, including Susan Collins of Maine, have expressed openness to renewing the subsidies if they are paired with tighter eligibility rules, such as lower income caps or changes in how federal dollars flow to insurers and individuals. Several Democrats say they could consider adjustments but warn that aggressive limits could undermine coverage gains achieved under the health law. House Democrats remain skeptical that the Senate vote will deliver the outcome they want; Rosa DeLauro, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, noted that Republicans have sought to weaken or repeal the Affordable Care Act for more than 15 years and argued that the latest confrontation may mark the beginning of a renewed push to trim federal support for health coverage.
