Trump formally signs controversial funding bill to end historic government shutdown

US President Donald Trump formally signed the controversial funding bill, ending the longest government shutdown in the country’s history. The 42-day-long shutdown ended after the House of Representatives’ passage of a bill negotiated by Republicans and a splinter group of Democrat-aligned senators.

The compromise between the two sides set the stage for government operations to return to normal through January. However, the agreement still left unresolved the issue of expiring tax credits for the Affordable Care Act , or Obamacare , which most Democrats demanded be extended in any deal to reopen the government.

On Monday, the US Senate approved the compromise, and the House of Representatives followed suit two days later by a margin of 222 in favour and 209 against, with two lawmakers not voting. On Wednesday night, Trump signed the bill, saying, “We’re sending a clear message that we will never give in to extortion, because that’s what it was … the Democrats tried to extort our country”.

The fight continues

In remarks to the House floor, shortly before the voting, the Democratic minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries , had pledged to continue to press for the subsidies’ extensions even after the funding bill is passed.

“This fight is not over. We’re just getting started,” he said. “Either Republicans finally decide to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits this year, or the American people will throw Republicans out of their jobs next year and end the speakership of Donald J Trump once and for all. That’s how this fight ends.”

It is pertinent to note that the spending standoff was the biggest battle between congressional Democrats and Republicans since Trump returned to the White House earlier this year. This resulted in unprecedented disruptions to government services, with the Trump administration ordering cuts to commercial air travel across the country and the first-ever halt to the largest federal food aid program.

The shutdown began on October 1, resulting in about 700,000 federal workers being furloughed . Hundreds of thousands of others, from active-duty military to law enforcement to airport security screeners, continued to work even without pay.

Russell Vought, the White House Office of Management and Budget director known for his hostility towards the federal workforce, seized on the funding lapse to order further layoffs of government employees. He also cut funding for infrastructure projects in states that voted for Kamala Harris last year.