Donald Trump signs bill to end longest US government shutdown in history

Shutdown stretched nearly eight weeks, suspending government services as politicians battled over budget

US President Donald Trump shows the signed bill package to re-open the federal government in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. AFP

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed a funding bill that will reopen the federal government after the longest shutdown in US history.

"We can never let this happen again," Trump said in the Oval Office during the late-night signing ceremony. "This is no way to run a country."

"Today we are sending a clear message that we will never give in to extortion," said Trump, surrounded by Republican lawmakers including House Speaker Mike Johnson.

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The bill to fund the government and end the nearly eight-week shutdown passed the Senate earlier this week and passed in the House of Representatives with a vote of 222-209, along party lines.

Democrats in Congress had wanted to extend an enhanced tax credit that lowers the cost of health coverage obtained through Affordable Care Act marketplaces and refused to go along with a spending bill that did not include that priority. But Republicans said that was a separate policy fight to be held at another time.

The shutdown magnified the stark partisan divisions within Congress, and that split was reflected when legislators began debating the measure on the House floor Wednesday afternoon.

Democrats said Republicans moved at speed to provide “tax breaks to billionaires” this year, but they won’t prevent people’s health insurance premiums from soaring. Republicans said Democrats sought to use the pain generated by the shutdown to prevail in a policy dispute.

While the bill does not address healthcare subsidies, it restores funding for government agencies at existing levels until January 30, blocking federal job cuts promoted by the Trump administration and provides workers pay from their period on furlough. This buys time for legislators to finish work on detailed spending bills to fund agencies for the current fiscal year, which lasts through September 30, 2026.

It also includes full-year funding for the Department of Agriculture, the Food and Drug Administration, the Department of Veterans' Affairs, military construction projects and Congress.

The bill also ensures that the Snap food aid programme, which helps 40 million Americans to buy groceries, will continue without disruption if Congress shuts down the government again before September 30.

Congress still must write, debate and pass full-year spending bills that cover other government agencies.