US Govt’s Longest Shutdown Ends After 43 Days

<p>President Donald Trump on Thursday signed a bipartisan bill bringing an end to the longest government shutdown in US history, a 43-day impasse that left Washington paralysed and hundreds of thousands of federal workers without pay.</p>
<p>As he signed the legislation, Trump declared, &ldquo;I just want to tell you the country has never been in better shape. We went through this short-term disaster with the Democrats because they thought it would be good politically.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s an honour now to sign this incredible bill and get our country working again,&rdquo; he added, signalling relief after weeks of political deadlock.</p>
<h2>Bill Clears Congress After Weeks of Gridlock</h2>
<p>The bill reached Trump&rsquo;s desk just hours after it passed both chambers of Congress. The House of Representatives voted to restart crucial federal operations, including food assistance programmes, air traffic control, and payments to hundreds of thousands of civil servants, marking the end of an exhausting standoff.</p>
<p>Under the deal, funding for military construction, veterans&rsquo; affairs, the Department of Agriculture, and Congress will continue through next autumn, while the rest of the government will be funded until the end of January.</p>
<p>Around 670,000 furloughed civil servants are now set to return to work. Another similar number of employees who had been working without pay, including more than 60,000 air traffic controllers and airport security officers, will receive back pay.</p>
<p>The agreement also reinstates several federal workers dismissed during the shutdown, allowing critical services like air travel to gradually return to normal.</p>
<h2>Democrats Hold Their Ground on Health Subsidies</h2>
<p>For over five weeks, Democrats refused to reopen the government unless Trump agreed to renew pandemic-era tax credits that helped millions of Americans afford health insurance.</p>
<p>Recent Democratic victories in multiple state elections appeared to embolden their stance, strengthening their hand in negotiations. However, the stalemate broke when a group of eight Senate moderates from both parties crafted a compromise that secured a Senate vote on healthcare subsidies &mdash; though without guarantees of further action in the House.</p>
<p>The Republican-controlled House eventually passed the funding package by a 222&ndash;209 vote, with Trump&rsquo;s influence holding his party together amid strong Democratic opposition.</p>
<h2>Fiery Exchanges in the House Chamber</h2>
<p>Outgoing Democratic Representative Mikie Sherrill, recently elected as New Jersey&rsquo;s next governor, delivered a sharp farewell speech opposing the bill.</p>
<p>&ldquo;To my colleagues: Do not let this body become a ceremonial red stamp from an administration that takes food away from children and rips away healthcare,&rdquo; Sherrill said in her final remarks on the House floor. &ldquo;To the country: Stand strong. As we say in the Navy, don&rsquo;t give up the ship.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Her impassioned plea underscored the deep divisions that defined the shutdown, a political battle that disrupted millions of lives and tested the resilience of federal institutions.</p>
<h2>House Returns Amid Mounting Political Pressure</h2>
<p>Thursday&rsquo;s vote marked the first day back in session for the Republican-led House since mid-September, following a long recess that many viewed as a pressure tactic against Democrats.</p>
<p>The chamber&rsquo;s return also reignited another contentious issue: a pending vote on releasing all unclassified records related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein &mdash; a move that Speaker Mike Johnson and President Trump have so far resisted.</p>