President Donald Trump signed legislation late Wednesday to end the longest government shutdown in United States history, bringing federal operations back online after 43 days of paralysis that left millions of Americans without food aid and thousands of federal workers unpaid.
The House of Representatives passed the funding package in a 222 to 209 vote earlier Wednesday evening, sending the measure to Trump’s desk within hours. The bill extends government funding through January 30 and provides full year appropriations for agriculture, military construction, veterans affairs, and the legislative branch.
Federal employees who were furloughed during the shutdown have been directed to return to work Thursday, according to a memorandum from the White House Office of Management and Budget released shortly after Trump signed the bill. Workers will receive back pay for the period they went unpaid.
The shutdown began October 1 when Democrats in the Senate refused to pass a funding bill without extensions to Affordable Care Act healthcare subsidies for low income Americans. Republicans rejected those amendments, leading to the impasse that halted government services for more than six weeks.
Eight Senate Democrats broke with their party earlier this week to support the bipartisan deal, which promised a separate vote on the healthcare subsidies in mid December rather than including them in the funding package. Six House Democrats joined Republicans in passing the final bill Wednesday. Only two Republicans voted against the measure.
The political standoff left neither party with a clear victory. A Reuters poll released Wednesday showed 50 percent of Americans blamed Republicans for the shutdown while 47 percent faulted Democrats.
“They knew that it would cause pain, and they did it anyway,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said of Democrats. “The whole exercise was pointless. It was wrong and it was cruel.”
Democratic Representative Mikie Sherrill, recently elected as New Jersey’s next governor, criticized both the funding bill and the Trump administration in her final speech on the House floor. Many Democrats remain furious that the deal excludes the healthcare subsidies, with some calling for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to step down.
The shutdown’s economic consequences extend beyond the immediate disruption to government services. The White House estimates each week of the shutdown cost approximately five billion dollars in economic output, potentially reducing fourth quarter GDP growth by between one and 1.5 percentage points.
Air travel faced severe disruptions throughout the shutdown, with six percent of scheduled flights canceled by Tuesday. The Department of Transportation had projected cancellations would rise to 10 percent by Friday before freezing the cuts Wednesday night.
Recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which provides food aid to nearly one in eight Americans, should see their full November benefits deposited by Monday. The program had been threatened during the shutdown before courts intervened to require full payment.
The most significant lasting impact may be the permanent loss of crucial economic data. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday that October’s jobs and Consumer Price Index inflation reports are unlikely to ever be released due to gaps in data collection during the shutdown.
“The Democrats may have permanently damaged the federal statistical system with October CPI and jobs reports likely never being released,” Leavitt said. “All of that economic data released will be permanently impaired, leaving our policymakers at the Fed flying blind at a critical period.”
The Bureau of Labor Statistics had furloughed staff members during the shutdown, preventing the agency from collecting the survey data needed to compile the reports. This marks the first time since the surveys began in 1948 and 1921 respectively that monthly data will be missing from the historical record.
The data gap complicates decision making for the Federal Reserve, which meets December 9 and 10 to consider another interest rate cut. Fed Chair Jerome Powell compared the situation to “driving in the fog” and suggested the lack of data could lead policymakers to move more cautiously.
Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had expected the October jobs report to show a loss of 60,000 positions. Private sector data from ADP showed employers added 42,000 jobs that month, though official government figures have shown a shakier labor market in recent reports.
Market participants are currently pricing in an approximately 80 percent probability of a quarter point rate cut at the December meeting, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool. The Federal Reserve cut rates by a quarter point at its October 29 meeting, lowering the federal funds rate to a range of 3.75 to 4 percent.
The funding bill that Trump signed does not resolve the underlying healthcare dispute. Senate Republicans promised to hold a vote on extending the ACA subsidies by mid December, but passage remains uncertain. The subsidies are set to expire December 31, potentially causing insurance premiums to double or triple for more than 22 million Americans.
With government funding only secured through January 30, Congress faces another potential shutdown early next year if lawmakers cannot reach agreement on both appropriations and the healthcare subsidies.
“We can never let this happen again,” Trump said during the late night signing ceremony. He renewed his call for Senate Republicans to eliminate the filibuster to prevent future standoffs, though GOP senators have repeatedly rejected that proposal.
The shutdown affected millions of Americans beyond federal workers and SNAP recipients. The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which helps nearly six million people with heating costs, also faced delays that could extend into January despite the shutdown’s end. Program administrators expressed concern about funding arriving in time for winter weather.
House members cast their votes Wednesday after 54 days away from Washington. The chamber had been in recess for the entire shutdown period, having last met in September when it passed a government funding bill. Lawmakers are leaving town again for the rest of the week but are expected to return next week to address a backlog of unfinished business.
The Senate also faces a contentious debate over provisions Republicans included in the funding package that would allow senators whose phone records were obtained during investigations into Trump’s 2020 election challenges to sue the government for up to 500,000 dollars. Speaker Johnson promised to pursue standalone legislation to repeal that provision, which drew bipartisan criticism in the House.
As federal agencies resume operations Thursday, officials will need to process the substantial backlog of filings, payments, and regulatory work that accumulated during the 43 day closure. While Trump’s signature officially ends the longest shutdown in American history, the practical and economic consequences will persist for months to come.
Source: newsghana.com.gh
