The United States government is set to reopen after President Donald Trump signed a short term spending bill to end the longest shutdown in the country’s history. He approved the bill on Wednesday night, only hours after the House of Representatives passed it by a vote of 222 to 209 and two days after the Senate narrowly cleared it.
Speaking from the Oval Office, Mr. Trump said the government would “resume normal operations” and noted that “people were hurt so badly” during the 43 day shutdown. Since October, many federal services have been halted, leaving about 1.4 million government employees either unpaid or on forced leave. Food aid programs were left uncertain and air travel across the nation faced major delays.
Government operations are expected to restart soon, and air travel disruptions should ease before the Thanksgiving holiday. The Federal Aviation Administration had reduced air traffic because of staff shortages caused by the shutdown. Some lawmakers even struggled to reach Washington for the vote, including Congressman Derrick Van Orden of Wisconsin, who rode his motorcycle nearly one thousand miles to be present.
The bill funds the government only until 30 January, which means lawmakers will again need to negotiate a new plan to avoid another shutdown.
Before signing the measure, Mr. Trump placed blame on Democratic lawmakers. “They did it purely for political reasons,” he said, urging voters not to forget this during future elections. Senate Democrats had refused to support an earlier funding bill unless Republicans agreed to extend health insurance subsidies for low income Americans. Republicans argued that the healthcare debate could continue after reopening the government.
A breakthrough came when eight Senate Democrats joined Republicans to pass the bill in exchange for a promise to hold a vote on the subsidies in December. The decision triggered strong criticism within the Democratic Party. Senator Chuck Schumer said the package “fails to do anything of substance to fix America’s healthcare crisis.” Senator Tim Kaine, who supported the deal, defended the move and said federal workers in his state were “saying thank you.”
On the same day, Democrats welcomed their newest member, Adelita Grijalva, who was sworn in after delays. She filled the seat once held by her father, Raul Grijalva. She quickly backed a petition demanding the release of files related to the late financier Jeffrey Epstein. House Speaker Mike Johnson later said he would schedule a vote next week.
The funding package keeps the government running until 30 January and includes full year support for the Department of Agriculture, military construction and legislative agencies. It guarantees back pay for all federal workers and secures food aid under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program until next September. It also ensures a December vote on the healthcare subsidies that sparked the shutdown debate.
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