Congress Ends Historic Gov’t Shutdown with Short-Term Funding Deal

By Staff, Agencies

The US House of Representatives has passed a bill to fund the government until January 30, 2026, ending the nation’s longest government shutdown.

According to NPR, the bill passed 222–209, with six Democrats joining Republicans, who hold a slim majority in the chamber. Two GOP legislators voted against the measure. President Donald Trump signed the bill into law later Wednesday evening.

The federal government entered a shutdown on October 1 over a dispute concerning health tax credits under the Affordable Care Act, which Democrats sought to extend into next year.

After weeks of bitter finger-pointing, and as federal employee layoffs and flight cancellations mounted, eight Senate Democrats broke ranks and voted with Republicans on Monday to reopen the government.

Many prominent Democrats condemned their colleagues for siding with “MAGA extremists” in both chambers. “We saw capitulation and a betrayal of working Americans. The American people need more from their leaders,” California Governor Gavin Newsom wrote on X.

The dissenting Democrats defended their actions, arguing that the layoffs were hurting ordinary Americans. “Staying in shutdown mode was not getting us anywhere,” Senator Jeanne Shaheen said.

Ahead of the House vote, Congresswoman Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, another Democrat who broke ranks, said that “the fight to stop runaway health insurance premiums won’t be won by holding hungry Americans hostage.”

Trump, who has blamed Democrats for more than 40 days of disruption, said the shutdown had made them “look very bad” as he signed the bill to reopen the government.