Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., left, leaves with Rep. Gabe Evans, R-Colo., right, after speaking with reporters at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
The longest government shutdown in U.S. history could conclude as soon as today, Day 43, after the U.S. House of Representatives voted today to reopen the government.
The funding bill has already passed the Senate and it will now go to President Donald Trump’s desk, where he’s scheduled to sign it tonight, according to the White House. Trump has called the bill a “very big victory.”
Yet even as the possibility of an end to the shutdown draws near, almost no one in Congress will be satisfied. Democrats didn’t get the health insurance provisions they demanded added to the spending deal. And Republicans, who control the levers of power in Washington, didn’t escape blame, according to polls and some state and local elections that went poorly for them.
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Speaker Johnson ‘very relieved’ after vote to end government shutdown passes
The Republican lambasted Democrats for the historically long government shutdown, saying they used the “American people as leverage in this political game.”
“Voters are going to remember which political party played games with their life,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson.
Trump expected is expected to sign the spending bill at 9:45 p.m. EST in the Oval Office.
“We feel very relieved. Tonight, the Democrats’ shutdown is finally over,” Johnson said.
House passes bill to end historic government shutdown, sending measure to Trump
Republicans used their slight majority to get the bill over the finish line by a vote of 222-209.
The historic 43-day funding lapse saw federal workers go without multiple paychecks, travelers stranded at airports and people lining up at food banks to get a meal for their families.
Democrats wanted to extend an enhanced tax credit expiring at the end of the year that lowers the cost of health coverage obtained through Affordable Care Act marketplaces. They refused to go along with a short-term spending bill that did not include that priority. But Republicans said that was a separate policy fight to be held at another time. They eventually prevailed, but only after the shutdown took an increasing toll on the country.
“We told you 43 days ago from bitter experience that government shutdowns don’t work,” said Rep. Tom Cole, the Republican chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. “They never achieve the objective that you announce. And guess what? You haven’t achieved that objective yet, and you’re not going to.”
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