Trump Signs Temporary Budget Bill... Official End to Record 43-Day Shutdown (Comprehensive)

The longest-ever shutdown of the United States federal government, a temporary halt of government operations, ended on the 12th (local time).

Donald Trump, President of the United States, is signing a budget bill to normalize the federal government in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington DC on the 12th (local time). Photo by UPI

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On that day, the House of Representatives put the temporary budget bill, which had been amended and passed by the Senate on the 10th, to a vote in a plenary session. The bill passed with 222 votes in favor and 209 against.

Subsequently, at approximately 10:24 p.m. Eastern Time, President Trump signed the temporary budget bill that had been sent from the House of Representatives. With this, the shutdown that had begun on the 1st of the previous month and lasted for 43 days came to an end. This shutdown lasted eight days longer than the previous record of 35 days.

After signing the budget bill, President Trump criticized the Democratic Party, saying, "They caused more than 20,000 flight cancellations or delays, prevented over one million federal employees from receiving their paychecks, and kept countless Americans in need from receiving benefits."

President Trump also pointed out that the Democrats, in demanding the extension of so-called Obamacare (ACA, Affordable Care Act) subsidies even at the cost of a shutdown, "wanted to pay 1.5 trillion dollars to illegal immigrants coming from gangs, prisons, and mental institutions," and asserted that "Democratic lawmakers shut down the government."

He added, "Today, we are sending a clear message that we will never yield to threats," urging the public, "Do not forget what they (the Democrats) have done to our country in the upcoming midterm and other elections."

The budget bill includes provisions to extend federal government funding through January 30 of the following year, as well as the annual budgets for the Department of Agriculture, military facilities, and the legislative branch. It also restores the federal employee layoffs implemented by the Trump administration during the shutdown to pressure the Democrats, and prohibits further layoffs in the future.

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With the official end of the shutdown, payroll for federal employees such as air traffic controllers will resume, and hundreds of thousands of furloughed workers are expected to return to their jobs. However, The Wall Street Journal reported that the handling of the core issue of the shutdown-the expiration of Obamacare subsidies-has been postponed until the end of the year. Throughout the shutdown, the Democratic Party insisted that the extension of Obamacare subsidies be included in the agreement. These subsidies, provided as tax credits, reduce Americans' health insurance premiums by 20 to 30 percent, benefiting tens of millions of people.

This shutdown left significant scars on the U.S. economy. As a result of the shutdown, numerous federal employees were forced into unpaid leave or worked without pay, leading to income gaps. Widespread disruptions occurred across American society, including flight delays, suspension of economic data releases, and a crisis in food assistance budgets for low-income households.

Experts predict that aftereffects are inevitable even with the end of the shutdown. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that the six-week shutdown would cause fourth-quarter GDP to drop by 1.5 percentage points, with up to 11 billion dollars in losses expected to be permanent.

On his social media platform Truth Social, President Trump wrote, "The Democratic Party maliciously shut down the country, causing 1.5 trillion dollars (about 2,200 trillion won) in losses to our nation," and insisted, "They must pay a fair price."

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