The longest government shutdown in U.S. history came to an end Wednesday night after President Donald Trump signed a stopgap funding bill that cleared both chambers of Congress, restoring federal operations after more than six weeks of disruption.
The measure, negotiated by Republican leaders and a small group of Democratic-aligned senators, funds government agencies through January and reverses layoffs ordered by the administration during the shutdown. It leaves unresolved the question that sparked the impasse: whether Congress will extend expiring Affordable Care Act tax credits that have kept premiums lower for millions of enrollees. Those subsidies will now receive a separate vote in the Senate by mid-December.
The House approved the bill earlier Wednesday in a 222–209 vote, two days after the Senate advanced it with the support of all Republicans and eight members of the Democratic caucus. Six House Democrats crossed party lines to vote for the agreement, while two Republicans opposed it.
The end of the shutdown brings relief after 42 days of mounting strain across the country. Roughly 700,000 federal employees were furloughed, while hundreds of thousands more — including active-duty service members, law enforcement officers and airport screeners — worked without pay. The lapse in funding triggered the first-ever halt to the nation’s largest food aid program, leading to long lines at food banks as SNAP payments were suspended.
Travelers also felt the effects. After weeks of unpaid work, air traffic controllers faced severe staffing pressure, prompting Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to order nationwide flight reductions that caused widespread cancellations.
The standoff began on October 1, when congressional Democrats refused to advance a Republican funding bill that excluded healthcare provisions they sought, especially the ACA tax credit extension. Democrats also pushed for limits on the administration’s use of rescissions and a rollback of earlier Medicaid cuts. Republicans, who control both chambers, repeatedly attempted to move short-term funding without those concessions, but Democrats held firm in the Senate using the filibuster.
November’s off-year elections — which saw Democrats win key gubernatorial races and notch other successes — strengthened the party’s resolve, even as pressure intensified on all sides to end the shutdown.
The compromise that emerged stops immediate damage but sets up another high-stakes confrontation early next year. With funding set to expire again at the end of January and healthcare premiums already rising due to the tax credit lapse, the fight over ACA subsidies is poised to return.
Source: The Guardian