President Trump Signs Bill Ending Record-Breaking Government Shutdown, But Uncertainty Remains
US President Donald Trump has signed a bill ending the longest government shutdown in US history, a 43-day standoff that had disrupted food assistance, pay for hundreds of thousands of federal workers, and revived a hobbled air traffic control system. The legislation was passed by the House of Representatives on Wednesday with the backing of the Republican-controlled chamber, largely keeping Trump's party unified despite fierce opposition from Democrats.
The bill extends funding through January 30, keeping the government on track to add approximately $1.8 trillion per year to its national debt. Federal workers idled during the shutdown will be brought back to their jobs as early as Thursday, but it remains unclear when full government operations will resume.
In a rare show of unity, Republicans and Democrats put aside their differences to pass the package, which had been stalled for weeks. However, neither party emerged with a clear victory, as a Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 50% of Americans blamed Republicans for the shutdown, while 47% blamed Democrats.
The measure also includes provisions allowing eight Republican senators to seek damages over alleged privacy violations during the federal investigation into the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol. The White House said employment and Consumer Price Index reports covering October might never be released due to data gaps caused by the shutdown.
Economists estimate that the shutdown shaved more than a tenth of a percentage point from gross domestic product each week, although most of the lost output is expected to be recovered in the coming months. Despite this, some data gaps may be permanent.
The bill sets up a December Senate vote on extending federal health insurance subsidies set to expire at year's end. However, House Speaker Mike Johnson has made no such promise in his chamber, leaving Democrats wary that their leverage will not translate into meaningful action.
In the end, the shutdown brought a mix of relief and frustration for many Americans, who were forced to wait weeks without access to food assistance or faced uncertainty about when they would be able to fly. As one Republican Representative noted, "I feel like I just lived a Seinfeld episode. We just spent 40 days and I still don't know what the plotline was."
US President Donald Trump has signed a bill ending the longest government shutdown in US history, a 43-day standoff that had disrupted food assistance, pay for hundreds of thousands of federal workers, and revived a hobbled air traffic control system. The legislation was passed by the House of Representatives on Wednesday with the backing of the Republican-controlled chamber, largely keeping Trump's party unified despite fierce opposition from Democrats.
The bill extends funding through January 30, keeping the government on track to add approximately $1.8 trillion per year to its national debt. Federal workers idled during the shutdown will be brought back to their jobs as early as Thursday, but it remains unclear when full government operations will resume.
In a rare show of unity, Republicans and Democrats put aside their differences to pass the package, which had been stalled for weeks. However, neither party emerged with a clear victory, as a Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 50% of Americans blamed Republicans for the shutdown, while 47% blamed Democrats.
The measure also includes provisions allowing eight Republican senators to seek damages over alleged privacy violations during the federal investigation into the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol. The White House said employment and Consumer Price Index reports covering October might never be released due to data gaps caused by the shutdown.
Economists estimate that the shutdown shaved more than a tenth of a percentage point from gross domestic product each week, although most of the lost output is expected to be recovered in the coming months. Despite this, some data gaps may be permanent.
The bill sets up a December Senate vote on extending federal health insurance subsidies set to expire at year's end. However, House Speaker Mike Johnson has made no such promise in his chamber, leaving Democrats wary that their leverage will not translate into meaningful action.
In the end, the shutdown brought a mix of relief and frustration for many Americans, who were forced to wait weeks without access to food assistance or faced uncertainty about when they would be able to fly. As one Republican Representative noted, "I feel like I just lived a Seinfeld episode. We just spent 40 days and I still don't know what the plotline was."
So I'm reading this article about the government shutdown and it's crazy to think that the US has never had one that lasted so long... 43 days is insane! 
The stats are wild too - $1.8 trillion per year added to the national debt, and over a tenth of a percentage point shaved off GDP each week. Economists are saying most of the lost output will be recovered in the coming months, but some data gaps may be permanent... like how we'll never know what those October employment and Consumer Price Index reports said 
Here's the GDP loss by week: 
On a lighter note, it's wild that the shutdown was more of a "Seinfeld episode" for some reps 
... I mean, who hasn't had those kinds of days where you're just like "what happened?" 
Anyway, this bill extending funding might help bring back full government operations eventually, but with all these uncertainties, it's hard to tell what's next 
I'm so relieved that the government shutdown is finally over but I'm also kinda worried about the national debt... I mean $1.8 trillion per year? That's crazy! 
And what about those federal workers who were affected by the shutdown? They're getting their jobs back, but when can we expect full gov ops to resume again? 
It seems like there's still a lot of uncertainty around this whole thing... did both parties really put aside their differences or is it just politics as usual? 
I'm so done with these government shutdowns! It's like they're playing some kinda game of chicken out there. Like, can't they all just get along? 
And what's up with this bill extending the national debt by 1.8 trillion dollars per year?! 
It's like we're all living on credit cards and hoping nobody notices when the bill comes due.
. And now that it's over, we just kind of... forgot about it? 
It's like, did we really just waste 43 whole days?
Did they all just forget or get distracted?! And now we're left with more questions than answers... it's like, where do we even go from here?!
it's crazy that ppl are more worried about who to blame than like solving the actual problem at hand 
maybe we can say that's what democracy is all about? 
. Anyway, back to the shutdown – what's up with all these data gaps and lost productivity? It's like, we need some clear structure around here, you know? 
Can you even imagine not knowing when or if your paycheck is coming? 
It's like, can we just get back to normal life already?! 
Let's all take a deep breath and focus on moving forward together 
And now they're already talking about another extension of subsidies... like, when will we get some real resolution here? 
can you even imagine having to wait that long for your paycheck or to get food assistance? and now we gotta deal with all these data gaps and stuff...like what's next? 
anyway, at least it's over and people can finally get back to their normal lives 
but still kinda weird that republicans and democrats put aside their differences just this once 
. and what's with all these lawsuits over privacy violations?! sounds like a whole lotta drama to me