Longest government shutdown in history over: House passes, Trump signs funding deal after record-long 43-day impasse

President Donald Trump signed a sweeping spending package late Wednesday night, ending the longest government shutdown in U.S. history after 43 days that wreaked havoc on federal workers, food assistance programs and air traffic.

The House voted 222-209 earlier Wednesday to pass the funding deal after nearly two months out of session. As he signed the bill, Trump urged voters to remember the shutdown at the ballot box.

“So I just want to tell the American people, you should not forget this. When we come up to midterms and other things, don’t forget what they’ve done to our country,” he said. “Over the past seven weeks, the Democrats’ shutdown has inflicted massive harm.” 

The House vote Wednesday followed the Senate’s approval of the measure in a 60-40 vote on Monday, ending more than a month of gridlock over Democratic demands to extend healthcare subsidies. Eight Democrats sparked outrage from their party after they broke ranks to join Republicans in ending the shutdown, after Senate Majority Leader John Thune agreed to hold a vote on the subsidies in December. 

The deal funds the government until Jan. 30 and includes three full funding measures for certain parts of the government. It also reverses the Trump administration’s federal layoffs during the shutdown. 

Following the Senate vote, Speaker Mike Johnson urged the House, which has not been in session since Sept. 19, to return to Washington, D.C., immediately. Ahead of the vote, Johnson posted a picture of a sunset outside of his office that he said is “a reminder to me that God still has his hand of blessing over our nation.” 

“Thankfully, after 42 long days, we will soon get our vote to finally end the painful Democrat Shutdown – and get the American government open and operating again for the people,” he said. 

The House vote came the same day congressional Democrats released emails from disgraced sex offender Jeffrey Epstein mentioning President Donald Trump by name, sparking questions about Trump’s knowledge of Epstein’s conduct and their relationship. 

Trump on Truth Social accused the Democrats of using Epstein to “deflect from their massive failures, in particular, their most recent one – THE SHUTDOWN!”  

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday that although the shutdown would soon be over, the “damage caused by the Democrats with this reckless government shutdown cannot be forgotten.” 

“It is entirely the fault of the Democratic party. Just look at the vote count,” she said at a press briefing. “Hundreds of thousands of federal employees have missed their paychecks, tens of billions in wages and benefits were withheld, impacting vulnerable families, millions of low-income Americans missed their SNAP benefits, nearly 20,000 flights at airports across the county were delayed due to staffing shortages causing Americans to miss family events, vacations, and work obligations.”