The U.S. government is set to resume full operations on Thursday after the longest shutdown in the nation’s history, a 43-day standoff that disrupted air travel, strained public services and forced more than 1.4 million federal employees to work without pay.
Yet the political divisions that triggered the impasse remain firmly entrenched, raising fears of another confrontation before the end of January.
The funding agreement, though enough to reopen agencies, offers few constraints on President Donald Trump’s ability to withhold spending, a tactic his administration has used repeatedly in disputes with Congress.
It also leaves unresolved the soon-expiring federal health subsidies that Senate Democrats had sought to protect, the issue that initially prompted them to block a broader funding bill.
The shutdown intensified internal rifts within the Democratic Party, pitting progressives demanding tougher resistance to Trump against moderates who say their leverage is limited while Republicans control both chambers.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, who opposed the agreement, is nevertheless facing calls from some liberals to step aside.
Federal workers who endured more than a month without pay will begin receiving back pay on Saturday, with all payments expected by Wednesday, the White House said.
While Trump had threatened to withhold some salaries, officials offered no indication that those threats would be carried out.
“I’m happy to see all my coworkers again,” said Department of the Interior employee Stanley Stocker, who brought pastries to share on his first day back. “We’ve all been waiting for this.”
Though Trump fired several thousand federal employees during the shutdown, the deal requires agencies to reverse those dismissals within five days, temporarily halting his broader plan to shrink the civil service.
He remains on course to cut roughly 300,000 positions from the 2.2-million-strong workforce by year’s end.
Air travel has begun stabilizing after widespread cancellations caused by staffing shortages among air traffic controllers.
The Department of Homeland Security said it will issue $10,000 bonus checks to airport security screeners who took on extra shifts to keep operations afloat.
The Agriculture Department said most states will receive funding for the SNAP program within 24 hours, restoring food assistance for the 42 million Americans who rely on it.
The Smithsonian Institution announced that several museums along the National Mall will reopen Friday, with the National Zoo and remaining facilities set to open Monday.
Yet the respite may be short-lived. The deal only funds the government through January 30, leaving the door open to another shutdown early next year.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll found that public blame for the standoff remained split: 50% faulted Republicans, while 47% held Democrats responsible.
Notably absent from this shutdown was serious debate over the nation’s $38 trillion national debt, which continues to climb by about $1.8 trillion annually.
Democrats secured only a commitment for a Senate vote on health subsidies, arguing that spotlighting rising healthcare costs, an issue affecting 24 million Americans, many of them in Republican-led states, was itself a win.
“The healthcare of the American people is a fight worth having,” said Representative Hank Johnson of Georgia. “The American people are more aware of the high stakes.”
Republicans countered that the shutdown achieved nothing and inflicted needless harm, a complaint Democrats made during GOP-led shutdowns in 2013 and 2019. “This is just absolutely insane,” said Republican Representative Brian Fitzpatrick. “We cannot use shutdowns as leverage for policy.”
The economic fallout has also been significant. With federal statistical agencies frozen, key indicators, including October’s unemployment rate, may never be released, according to White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett.
The Congressional Budget Office estimated the shutdown delayed about $50 billion in spending and shaved 1.5 percentage points from U.S. GDP, with roughly $14 billion unlikely to be recovered even after operations resume.
The Small Business Administration said the standoff stalled $5.3 billion in loans to 10,000 small businesses.
As Washington returns to work, Americans can expect a temporary easing of disruptions, but with the same partisan divide looming large, the threat of another shutdown remains far from settled.
Source: Reuters
Written By Rodney Mbua
