Trump signs funding bill to end historic, 43-day government shutdown

WASHINGTON — President Trump signed a funding bill Wednesday to end the longest government shutdown in US history, hours after the House of Representatives passed legislation ending the 43-day standoff. 

“It’s an honor now to sign this incredible bill and get our country working again,” Trump said in the Oval Office, flanked by House Republican leaders as well as business and union leaders.

The president blasted “extremist” Democrats for shutting down the government, accusing them of attempting to “extort American taxpayers.” 

President Trump said that the Democrats were attempting to “extort American taxpayers” by shutting down the government. AP

“This cost the country $1.5 trillion,” Trump said of the shutdown, describing it as a “little excursion” that Democrats took “purely for political reasons.”

Trump re-upped his demand for Senate Republicans to “terminate” the filibuster — so that “this would never happen again” — and called for the “massive amount” of federal funding for Obamacare to be “paid directly to the people of our country, so that they can buy their own healthcare.”

In a 222-209 vote, the House voted to pass the funding bill it received from the Senate which will restart paychecks for federal workers and air traffic controllers, and fund food assistance programs. 

The legislation finally “reopens the government, restores critical services, and puts an end to the needless hardship Democrats have inflicted on the country,” said GOP House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole of Oklahoma. 

The House of Representatives voted in favor of the bill in a 222-209 vote on Wednesday REUTERS

“We feel very relieved tonight,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) told reporters after the vote. “The Democrat shutdown is finally over thanks to House and Senate Republicans, who stood together to get the job done.”

Johnson slammed Democrats for using “the American people as leverage in this political game,” arguing that the outcome was “totally foreseeable.”

“It’s something that is very difficult to forgive,” he continued, describing the shutdown “stunt” as “utterly pointless and foolish.”

Trump signed the stopgap funding bill after the House passed it to end the longest government shutdown in US history on Wednesday. Getty Images

House Democrats lamented that their Senate Democratic colleagues caved with nothing to show for it on healthcare, their stated political reason for holding the government hostage.

“I rise in opposition to this bill that does nothing, not one thing to address the Republican health care crisis, amid a cost-of-living crisis,” Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) said in a floor speech ahead of the vote. 

In his speech, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) proclaimed, “This fight is not over.”

“Democrats will continue to press the case to say to our Republican colleagues, you have another opportunity to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits,” Jeffries said Tuesday. Raphael Liy/ZUMA / SplashNews.com

“There are only two ways that this fight will end, Mr. Speaker: either Republicans finally decide to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits this year, or the American people will throw Republicans out of their jobs next year and end the speakership of Donald J. Trump once and for all,” the Democratic leader said.

The legislation will return federal workers to their jobs with backpay, reopen executive branch agencies that provide critical veterans services and other benefits like food stamps and fully fund the government until at least Jan. 30.

After that, some spending for SNAP benefits, veterans programs, legislative branch activities and military construction, among other items, will continue until Sept. 30 — at which point the 2026 fiscal year ends.

Some spending for SNAP benefits, veterans programs, legislative branch activities and military construction, among other items, will continue until Sept. 30 AP

Hundreds of thousands of federal workers and congressional staffers had gone without pay for more than 40 days — leading the top union backing government employees to pressure Democrats into ending the shutdown.

There had also been increasing flight delays and cancellations due to the lack of staffing at air traffic control towers, as unpaid workers were not showing up to their jobs.

Last Friday, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy had warned that if the government remained closed with the Thanksgiving holiday nearing, there could be an up to 20% reduction in US airspace.

Hundreds of thousands of federal workers and congressional staffers had gone without pay for more than 40 days. Getty Images

“As of Sunday, nearly half of all domestic flights and US flights were either canceled or delayed. And it’s a very serious situation,” noted House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Monday, giving his chamber 36 hours to reconvene.

Follow The Post’s live coverage of President Trump and national politics for the latest news and analysis

“Shutting down the government never produces anything,” Johnson added. “It never has.”

“I could not in good conscience support a resolution that creates a self-indulgent legal provision for certain senators to enrich themselves by suing the Justice Department using taxpayer dollars,” Steube said of his no vote on X, referring to a provision in the bill that allows Republican senators snooped on by former special counsel Jack Smith to seek compensation. 

Flights were heavily impacted from the shutdown, with delays occurring at airports across the country. Getty Images

“There is no reason the House should have been forced to eat this garbage to end the Schumer Shutdown,” he added.

On Monday, eight members of the Senate Democratic caucus crossed the aisle to vote with the GOP for the end of the shutdown, though Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) was not among them.

“I think he made a mistake in going too far,” Trump told Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle” on Monday. “He thought he could break the Republicans, and the Republicans broke him.”

“Shutting down the government never produces anything,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Monday. “It never has.” AP

Before that, all but three from the Senate Democratic caucus had voted 14 times against reopening the government as they held out through last week’s Election Day to activate the progressive base and turnout Democratic voters in Virginia, New Jersey, and New York.

One of the senators who sided with the GOP, Angus King (I-Maine), admitted bluntly in an interview Monday, “Standing up to Trump didn’t work.” 

A spokesperson for the Independent leader who caucuses with Democrats told The Post that Schumer and the other senators held out in the fight to secure an extension of ObamaCare tax subsidies, which will receive a vote before the end of the year.

Senator Angus King said that “standing up to Trump didn’t work.” Nathan Posner/Shutterstock

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) has pledged to hold a vote on the tax credits, while Johnson hasn’t committed. Democrats in Congress have sounded the alarm that, without the vote, health care premiums will skyrocket.

Some Democrats had telegraphed that they would be a “no” vote on the legislation earlier Wednesday for that reason, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY).

Start your day with all you need to know

Morning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more.

Thanks for signing up!

“Democrats will continue to press the case to say to our Republican colleagues, ‘You have another opportunity to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits,’” Jeffries said Tuesday.

The House Democratic leader added that his caucus was going to “give the Republicans another opportunity to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits by introducing an amendment that will extend these tax credits for a three-year period of time, the same period of time that these tax credits were extended back in 2022.”

Many of the subsidies had been enhanced under former President Joe Biden during the COVID-19 pandemic, but are set to expire at the end of 2025.