PNN – With the signing of the U.S. government funding bill by Donald Trump, the longest government shutdown in the country’s history, which lasted 43 days and disrupted various sectors of the U.S. economy, came to an end.
According to the report of Pakistan News Network, citing Al Jazeera, U.S. President Donald Trump, at the signing ceremony to end the longest federal government shutdown, said amid applause from Republican lawmakers gathered around him in the Oval Office: “Today we send a clear message that we will never yield to extortion.”
The federal government shutdown occurred while the U.S. Congress passed a bill, approved by a narrow majority in the House of Representatives (222 votes in favor, 219 against), to reopen federal departments and agencies.
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The bill funds the government through January 30, including the resumption of halted food assistance, payment of salaries for hundreds of thousands of federal employees, and the reactivation of the air traffic control system.
As a result, approximately 670,000 government employees who had been temporarily furloughed will return to work, and the same number of workers who remained on duty without pay—including over 60,000 air traffic controllers and airport security personnel—will receive back pay.
Earlier, Mike Johnson, Republican Majority Leader in the House, had stated that voting on the funding package would take place that evening, urging colleagues from both parties to think carefully and ultimately do the right thing.
Earlier in the week, eight Democratic senators broke from their party, enabling the passage of the temporary funding package. This caused sharp divisions among Democrats, as many believed federal healthcare benefits, set to expire at the end of the year, should have been extended.
Hakeem Jeffries, Democratic Minority Leader in the House, said his party would propose a separate bill to extend these benefits for three years. He added that Republicans and Trump are ignoring the country’s growing cost-of-living crisis.