The U.S. government has reopened after a record 43-day shutdown, ending weeks of furloughs, delayed paychecks and snarled public services — but the deal that unlocked the doors buys only a brief respite.
On November 12, 2025, President Donald Trump signed a funding package shortly after the House approved it in a 222–209 vote, following Senate passage earlier in the week. The move formally ended the longest shutdown in U.S. history, which began on October 1 and disrupted everything from airport staffing to food assistance programs. Federal workers are set to receive back pay as agencies move to restart normal operations.
The agreement keeps most of the government running until January 30, 2026, while enacting full-year appropriations for a handful of areas, including agriculture and food safety, military construction and veterans programs, and the legislative branch. That mix gives some agencies long-term certainty but leaves the bulk of federal operations on a short leash. The package also restores key safety-net services and allows air traffic control and other critical functions to resume at full capacity.
Economists say much of the shutdown’s hit to growth could be made back as spending restarts, though some losses — from canceled travel, deferred inspections and delayed contracts — may not fully recover. Agencies face weeks of catch-up work, and contractors and smaller vendors that rely on steady federal payments will still be digging out.
The central policy fight that triggered the impasse remains unsettled. The final bill did not include an extension of enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies that help lower monthly premiums, a top Democratic priority. Instead, Senate Republicans committed to hold a vote in December, leaving millions watching to see whether assistance will continue next year. ACA subsidies were left unresolved, setting up another high-stakes clash before the stopgap deadline.
Politics won’t cool the temperature, either. Each side emerged blaming the other for the 43-day standoff, and the narrow House margin suggests the next funding round could be just as fraught. With only weeks until the next cutoff, appropriators must stitch together broader spending bills or risk revisiting the same brinkmanship in the dead of winter. Agencies, businesses and travelers should see service improve in the coming days, but uncertainty is still the baseline in Washington.