US Government Reopens As New Funding Bill Passes

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President Donald Trump signed a spending bill to reopen the US Federal Government (Credit: WhiteHouse.gov)

The federal government reopened on November 13, 2025, ending a 43-day shutdown, the longest in US history. This followed President Donald Trump’s signing of a temporary funding bill late on November 12, which let federal employees return to work and allowed government services to resume.

The shutdown began on October 1, 2025, after US lawmakers failed to reach an agreement on a new annual budget or a short-term funding plan to keep the government open. About 650,000 federal workers were furloughed. More than 600,000 had to keep working without pay. As a result, many government services were paused or reduced. Even air travel was affected. Flights from major airports were cut by 10 percent after air traffic controllers, required to work without pay, stopped showing up. This caused delays and disruptions for travelers across the nation.

Most federal agencies are funded only through January 30, 2026 (Credit: Whitehouse.gov)

The bill signed by the president addresses these urgent issues. It provides back pay for federal workers affected by the shutdown. It also funds a few key agencies, such as the Department of Agriculture, until September 2026.

But most other government programs are only funded until January 30, 2026. The bill also does not address the primary issue that led to the shutdown — extending credits to lower healthcare premiums for millions of Americans. Lawmakers have promised to resolve this in a separate bill before the end of the year. They also aim to prevent another shutdown by agreeing on a longer-term budget for the remaining programs by the end of January.

Resources: Washingtonpost.com, CNN.com. NPR.org

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