President Donald Trump signed a bill to reopen the federal government, ending the longest shutdown in U.S. history after 43 days. The measure passed the House Wednesday night, with six Democrats joining Republicans to reach a 222–209 final vote. The Democrats who crossed party lines were Reps. Henry Cuellar (Texas), Don Davis (North Carolina), Adam Gray (California), Jared Golden (Maine), Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (Washington) and Tom Suozzi (New York). Two Republicans — Reps. Thomas Massie (Kentucky) and Greg Steube (Florida) — voted against the package.
Speaking in the Oval Office after signing the bill, Trump blamed Democrats for the shutdown. “This was an easy extension but they didn’t want to do it the easy way,” he said.
The bill extends most government funding at last year’s levels through the end of January and funds some agencies through the following September. Notably, it provides funding for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) payments, a program that helps nearly one in eight Americans and had been ensnared in a court dispute tied to the shutdown. The legislation reverses layoffs imposed during the furloughs, guarantees backpay for federal employees, and includes protections intended to prevent further immediate layoffs.
However, the package does not resolve the central policy fight that sparked the impasse: extensions of enhanced Affordable Care Act premium subsidies that are set to expire at year’s end. As part of the agreement reached with a bipartisan group of senators, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) agreed to hold a mid-December vote on legislation drafted by Democrats to extend those subsidies. Many Senate Democrats remain skeptical of the pledge. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), who voted against reopening the government, said a “handshake deal” without guarantees on lowering costs was insufficient.
Even if the Senate votes to extend the subsidies in December, any successful bill would still need to clear the House. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has not promised to bring such a measure to the floor.
Why the shutdown didn’t achieve its goals
Historically, shutdowns have rarely forced major policy concessions, and the last six weeks reinforced that pattern. Senate Democrats—under pressure from their progressive base—refused to fund the government before Oct. 1 unless Republicans agreed to extend ACA marketplace subsidies. The strategy followed earlier tensions in March, when key Democrats, including then-leaders, voted with Republicans to avert a prior shutdown, prompting backlash from the party’s activists who demanded tougher resistance.
Senate Democrats hoped that standing firm, given the potential spike in premiums without the subsidies, would push Republicans toward negotiation. That did not happen. Republicans continued to prioritize regular funding votes, and the standoff persisted.
The shutdown caused widespread hardship. About 42 million people who rely on SNAP faced interruptions to food assistance. Air traffic controllers and many TSA employees worked without pay, prompting the Federal Aviation Administration to order scaled-back flights. Millions of federal workers went without pay during the standoff.
Lawmakers who voted to end the shutdown argued that prolonging it would only deepen the suffering without improving the odds of winning a subsidy extension. “There was no guarantee that waiting would get us a better result, but there was a guarantee that waiting would impose suffering on more everyday people,” Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) told NPR.
The end of the shutdown leaves Democrats without a firm commitment on their central demand; instead, they accepted Thune’s promise to schedule a December vote. Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine), one of the six House Democrats who voted to reopen the government, said there remains an opportunity to extend the ACA premium tax credits and urged bipartisan cooperation to do so.
President Trump largely deferred to Thune during the standoff, allowing the Senate GOP leader to shape the party’s strategy instead of directly intervening in negotiations.
What comes next
Both parties now face choices that could shape their political prospects heading into 2026. Senate Democrats have roughly a month to craft a bill extending ACA subsidies in a way that can attract enough Republican support for passage. If they succeed, Democrats would enter 2026 with a concrete policy win to tout in messaging ahead of the midterm elections. If Republicans oppose an extension, Democrats will likely continue to make health care a central campaign issue.
Some Republicans have signaled interest in extending subsidies if the measure includes reforms such as fraud prevention and income caps. Meanwhile, the continuing resolution funds the government only for a few months, meaning Congress must still complete nine other appropriations bills before the stopgap expires.
