The longest federal government shutdown in history has officially ended. After 43 days, Republican and Democratic members of Congress in the House and the Senate pass the vote needed to re-open the government. Here, btw takes a closer look at the situation.
What Was the Shutdown About?
Every year, the U.S. Congress passes a budget to determine how the country’s funds will be spent. When a budget is not passed, no funds can be distributed. Without the ability to fund its programs and departments, the federal government must shut down some of its daily operations. The recent shutdown occurred because of a disagreement over health care credits that are set to expire on January 1, 2026. These tax credits, which were put into place in the COVID-19 era, help some American families afford their medical expenses. The elimination of those tax credits may cause many American families to pay much more for their health care starting next year.
Democrats refused to agree to a budget unless those tax credits were extended. They hoped that shutting down the federal government would put pressure on Republicans to negotiate and extend the credits. But that did not happen quickly, and the shutdown continued for weeks.
How Was it Finally Resolved?
Ending this shutdown required a majority vote in both the House and the Senate. A group of Senate Democrats decided in mid-November to vote with all of the Republicans to pass the budget bill. These Democrats are expecting the Republicans in the Senate to live up to an earlier promise to hold a vote in December for extending the health care tax credits.
A few days after the Senate voted 60-40 to pass the budget the House of Representatives held its own vote. Representatives voted 222-209 to pass the budget and re-open the government. On Wednesday, November 12, 2025, President Trump signed the legislation and the shutdown officially ended.
Many Democrats were unhappy with this decision. The Republicans must fulfill their promise to hold a vote about the health care credit extension. And even if the vote is held, it doesn’t mean that a vote to extend the credits is guaranteed to pass.
Why Did Some Democrats Switch Their Votes?
The shutdown lasted as long as it did because neither political party would compromise of the question of the health care tax credits. Why, then, did several Democrats change their votes and agree to pass the budget anyway? These Democrats were no longer willing to continue the federal government shutdown.
The shutdown was badly hurting families that relied on federal food aid payments (also known as SNAP). These food aid payments were not being sent during the shutdown, and people were beginning to face the inability to purchase enough food for their families.
Also, thousands of federal workers hadn’t been paid in six weeks, leaving many of them with their own financial struggles. Air traffic controllers were also not getting paid by the Federal Aviation Administration. But they were being asked to work without pay due to the importance of their jobs A decline in the FAA staff working during the shutdown caused widespread delays and cancellations at airports, keeping Americans from getting where they needed to go.
The newly signed deal will keep the government funded through January 30, 2025. Federal workers began returning to their jobs after Trump signed the legislation. The deal included the promise that they would receive all of their backpay from missed paychecks. Families will receive food aid again, and regular air travel will resume in time for the busy Thanksgiving holiday. However, the funding package also adds about $1.8 trillion a year to the national debt, which already stands at about $38 trillion.