President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed legislation to end the longest government shutdown in US history, hours after the House of Representatives voted to restore food assistance, pay hundreds of thousands of federal workers, and revive the nation’s air-traffic control system.
The Republican-controlled House passed the funding package by a vote of 222 to 209, with Trump’s backing helping to keep his party largely united despite fierce opposition from House Democrats. The Democrats had sought to secure an extension of federal health insurance subsidies, a key demand that was not met.
Trump signed the bill, which cleared the Senate earlier in the week, during a late-night Oval Office ceremony, saying:
“We can never let this happen again. This is no way to run a country.”
The agreement extends funding until 30 January, temporarily reopening government departments after a 43-day shutdown that paralysed vital services. It will also continue adding about $1.8 trillion a year to the federal government’s $38 trillion debt.
Republican Representative David Schweikert of Arizona compared the drawn-out political standoff to an episode of the sitcom Seinfeld.
“I feel like I just lived a Seinfeld episode. We just spent 40 days and I still don’t know what the plotline was,” he said. “What’s happened now when rage is policy?”
The end of the shutdown is expected to bring some relief ahead of the Thanksgiving travel rush, allowing air travel and food aid services to recover. It will also restore the flow of economic data from federal statistical agencies, whose silence left investors and policymakers in the dark about key indicators such as employment and inflation.
However, the White House said data for October, including employment and consumer price reports, may never be released. Economists estimate the shutdown shaved more than a tenth of a percentage point off gross domestic product each week of the six-week closure, though much of that loss is expected to be recovered in the coming months.
The House returned to session for the first time since mid-September, following a long recess meant to pressure Democrats. The chamber’s return also reignited debate over releasing unclassified records related to the late financier Jeffrey Epstein, an issue both Johnson and Trump have resisted.
Johnson on Wednesday swore in Democrat Adelita Grijalva, who filled her late father Raul Grijalva’s Arizona seat. Her signature provided the final support needed to force a House vote on releasing Epstein-related documents, just hours after Democrats unveiled a new batch of files.
The funding bill also contains a provision allowing eight Republican senators to seek damages for alleged privacy violations linked to the Justice Department’s investigation into the 6 January 2021 Capitol riot. It retroactively bars most undisclosed access to lawmakers’ phone data and allows those affected to sue for up to $500,000, plus legal costs.