President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed legislation ending the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, hours after the House of Representatives voted to restart disrupted food assistance, pay hundreds of thousands of federal workers and revive a hobbled air-traffic control system.
“We can never let this happen again,” Trump said in the Oval Office during a late-night signing ceremony that he used to criticize Democrats. “This is no way to run a country.”
The Republican-controlled chamber passed the package by a vote of 222-209, with Trump’s support largely keeping his party together in the face of vehement opposition from House Democrats, who are angry that a long standoff launched by their Senate colleagues failed to secure a deal to extend federal health insurance subsidies.
“I feel like I just lived a Seinfeld episode. We just spent 40 days and I still don’t know what the plotline was,” said Republican Representative David Schweikert of Arizona, likening Congress’ handling of the shutdown to the misadventures in a popular 1990s U.S. sitcom.
READ: Senate passes funding bill to end longest US government shutdown (
“I really thought this would be like 48 hours: people will have their piece, they’ll get a moment to have a temper tantrum, and we’ll get back to work.”
He added: “What’s happened now when rage is policy?”
Trump’s signature on the bill, which cleared the Senate earlier in the week, will bring federal workers idled by the 43-day shutdown back to their jobs starting as early as Thursday, although just how quickly full government services and operations will resume is unclear.
The U.S. federal government shutdown began on Oct. 1, after lawmakers failed to pass the appropriations bills required to fund the government for fiscal year 2026. The deadlock stemmed from partisan disagreements: Democrats sought to maintain healthcare subsidies and expand Medicaid protections, while Republicans pushed for significant spending cuts and limits on new social programs.
READ: Air travel may not recover even after government shutdown ends (
With no agreement, funding for most federal agencies lapsed, forcing a large portion of federal workers—estimated at roughly 750,000—to either stay home without pay or continue working in essential roles, including the military, Social Security, and air traffic control.
The shutdown’s impact was felt across the economy and public services. National parks, museums, and federal offices closed, while visa processing, small business loans, and food assistance programs experienced delays.
Analysts estimated the economic cost could reach $7 billion to $14 billion, though daily losses varied depending on the length of the shutdown. As negotiations continued, public pressure mounted on both parties to reach a deal and restore full government operations.
While the eventual passage of legislation restored government functions, the shutdown serves as a cautionary reminder of the need for timely cooperation in Congress to avoid repeating such disruptions, which affect not only workers and services but public confidence in governance.