Washington, D.C. – November 13, 2025 – In a dramatic Oval Office ceremony last night, President Donald Trump signed the funding bill into law, officially reopening the U.S. federal government and bringing to a close the longest shutdown in American history after 43 days.
The measure, which passed the House of Representatives earlier that evening in a razor-thin 222-209 vote, provides full-year funding for select agencies while extending operations for others through January 30, 2026. Six Democrats crossed the aisle to join Republicans in support, including Representatives Adam Gray (D-CA), Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA), and Jared Golden (D-ME), while two Republicans voted against it. The Senate had approved the package earlier, paving the way for Trump’s swift action. Flanked by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), Minority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA), and a cadre of GOP lawmakers and business leaders, Trump wasted no time in putting pen to paper. “The Democrats tried to extort our country,” he declared before signing, crediting Republican resolve for averting what he called a “senseless” crisis forced by congressional Democrats.
The shutdown, which began in late September over disputes on spending levels and policy riders, paralyzed vast swaths of government operations. Hundreds of thousands of federal workers went without paychecks, national parks closed to visitors, air travel snarled with delays and cancellations, and programs like SNAP faced funding shortfalls—prompting widespread economic ripple effects estimated in the billions.
With the bill’s passage, furloughed employees are slated to return to work as early as Thursday, and backpay provisions ensure retroactive compensation. The legislation also reverses certain Trump-era layoffs and bolsters protections against future disruptions.
However, it sidesteps broader Democratic demands, such as addressing rising health care costs or extending certain tax credits, setting the stage for potential January showdowns.
Trump hailed the resolution as a victory for fiscal discipline, noting it blocked a “massive omnibus spending bill” and locked in flat funding levels.
