(NewsNation) — President Donald Trump signed legislation Wednesday ending the government shutdown after 43 days, blaming Democrats for problems ranging from a delay in food-stamp distribution to a slowdown in air traffic.
“The extremists in the other party insisted on creating the longest government shutdown in American history, and they did it purely for political reasons,” the president said from the Oval Office, where he was joined by several Republican lawmakers.
Trump’s signature came within hours of the House voting 222-209, largely along party lines, to approve a bipartisan Senate package that came together over the weekend. Senate Democrats agreed to join Republicans in reopening the government, even though the deal lacked a continuance of Affordable Care Act care subsidies that Democrats had demanded. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., promised a separate vote on that issue next month.
The stalemate had furloughed hundreds of thousands of workers, stalled federal food assistance programs and crippled airport operations nationwide. The legislative package funds military construction, Veterans Affairs, the Department of Agriculture and the legislative branch through Sept. 30, 2026. It keeps the rest of the government funded at its current spending levels through Jan. 30.
The House Democrats who broke ranks Wednesday included Reps. Jared Golden of Maine, who is not running for reelection; Henry Cuellar of Texas, Don Davis of North Carolina, Adam Gray of California, Maria Gluesenkamp-Perez of Washington and Thomas Suozzi of New York. Two Republicans voted “no”: Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Gregory Steube of Florida.
Did the Democrats get what they wanted?
A rift has developed within the Democratic Party over health care subsidies. Party members previously insisted on a funding bill that included extensions for Affordable Care Act tax credits and blocked a deal to reopen the government 14 times on that issue.
Subsidies from the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, help mitigate the cost of private health insurance. They are set to expire at the end of this year.
Trump on Wednesday signaled a willingness to reexamine U.S. health care, but neither he nor other Republicans have submitted specific proposals.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has said the fight to fund ACA subsidies is not over.
“Democrats will continue to press the case,” he said. “Health care for people all across this country is on the brink of becoming unaffordable.”
Will flights resume after shutdown ends?
America’s airports will not instantly resume normal operations.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has warned that continued disruptions are guaranteed, even after lawmakers return to the Hill.
Duffy said officials with the Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration will continue to monitor air traffic control staffing as they assess safety at the nation’s airports.
“It’s going to be harder for me to come back after the shutdown and have more controllers controlling the airspace,” Duffy said. “So, this is going to live on in air travel well beyond the time frame that this government opens back up.”
How long will it take SNAP to roll out?
Reopening the federal government will restart the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for the more than 40 million Americans who depend on it.
The stopgap funding bill ensures states would be reimbursed for money spent to keep SNAP and the Women, Infants and Children program, or WIC, running during the shutdown.
However, the timeline for payments — to states or individuals — remains unclear, with Supreme Court orders blocking full payments hanging over the program until late Thursday night.
White House outlines pay schedules for federal workers
Federal workers were expected to begin receiving paychecks starting Saturday, with all federal workers to be made whole by Nov. 19, a senior Trump administration official told NewsNation.
Surprise provision will be repealed: Speaker Johnson
The legislation included a surprise provision allowing senators to sue the government if their phone records were examined as part of special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation. House Speaker Mike Johnson said he would work to repeal the provision.
“I was very angry about it. I was, and a lot of my members called me and said, ‘Did you know about it?’ … We had no idea,” he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.