WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump has signed a bill into law that ends the longest government shutdown in US history.
The legislation aims to restore critical services, including food assistance programs, resume pay for hundreds of thousands of federal workers, and reactivate the air-traffic control system, which had been severely disrupted during the shutdown.
The bill, which had already passed the Senate earlier in the week, will allow federal workers, who had been furloughed for the 43-day shutdown, to return to work starting Thursday. However, it remains unclear how quickly full government services will be fully restored.
Speaking from the Oval Office during a late-night signing ceremony, Trump emphasized that such a shutdown should never happen again. “This is no way to run a country,” he stated, using the opportunity to criticize Democrats.
The agreement provides government funding through January 30, while also contributing to the growing national debt, which currently stands at $38 trillion, with an annual increase of approximately $1.8 trillion.
Earlier, the US House of Representatives passed a bill concerning government spending, following approval by the Senate, effectively bringing an end to the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.
The bill was supported by 222 members, including 6 Democrats, while 209 members, including 2 Republicans, voted against it. The temporary funding bill, which was passed after a prolonged budgetary deadlock, will provide funding for government operations until January 30.
As a result of this legislation, the historic shutdown, which began on October 1, has been lifted.
This move comes after a lengthy financial crisis and federal service disruptions that had significantly impacted the performance of government institutions across the country.
