President Donald Trump has signed a short-term spending bill to reopen the federal government, ending the longest shutdown in US history.
The president approved the measure late Wednesday, only hours after the House of Representatives passed it 222–209 and two days after a narrow Senate vote sent the same bill forward.
Speaking from the Oval Office, Trump said the government would “resume normal operations” after “people were hurt so badly” during the 43-day closure.
The shutdown had halted a wide range of federal services since October, leaving roughly 1.4 million government employees on unpaid leave or working without pay. Food assistance programmes were disrupted, and air travel delays spread across the country.
Government agencies are expected to reopen in the coming days, and aviation disruptions are likely to ease ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. The Federal Aviation Administration had reduced air traffic because of staffing shortages caused by the shutdown.
Those shortages affected lawmakers trying to reach Washington for the vote. One member, Wisconsin Republican Derrick Van Orden, rode his motorcycle nearly 1,000 miles to cast his vote before the bill moved to the president’s desk.
The bill funds the government only until 30 January, meaning Congress will soon face another deadline to secure longer-term financing.
Before signing the legislation, Trump repeatedly blamed Democrats for the stalemate, saying “they did it purely for political reasons.”
He warned supporters not to “forget what they’ve done to our country” when midterm elections approach.
Senate Democrats, despite being in the minority, were able to push the government into shutdown because Republicans required some Democratic support to pass the temporary funding measure.
Democrats initially refused to back the bill, demanding that low-income healthcare subsidies due to expire at the end of the year be extended as part of the agreement.
Republicans argued that healthcare issues could be negotiated once the government had reopened.
On Sunday, however, eight Democratic senators broke from the party and voted to approve the spending package, securing a December vote on the healthcare subsidies in exchange for their support.
The move angered many within the party and drew public criticism from figures including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and California Governor Gavin Newsom.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said the package “fails to do anything of substance to fix America’s healthcare crisis.”
Virginia Senator Tim Kaine, who supported the compromise, countered that federal workers “were saying thank you” for ending the shutdown.
Hours before the House vote, Democrats also welcomed their newest member as Adelita Grijalva was sworn into office.
Her arrival did not give Democrats enough power to influence healthcare negotiations, but she received applause on the House floor.
Grijalva, elected on 23 September, had to wait for her swearing-in because the chamber had not been in session since 19 September. She now fills the seat previously held by her late father, Raul Grijalva.
Democrats quickly enlisted her support for a petition seeking to force a vote on the release of documents related to the late financier Jeffrey Epstein. The petition must remain open for seven legislative days before it can be brought to the floor, after which a vote must be scheduled within two legislative days.
House Speaker Mike Johnson surprised lawmakers on Wednesday by announcing that he would bring the measure to a vote next week.
The agreement struck over the weekend keeps the government funded until 30 January.
It provides full-year funding for the Department of Agriculture, along with money for military construction and legislative branch agencies.
The measure guarantees back pay for all federal workers affected by the shutdown, and it funds the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) — which provides food support for one in eight Americans — through next September.
It also includes an agreement to hold a December vote on extending healthcare subsidies, the issue Democrats had sought throughout the negotiations.
