House votes to end longest ever shutdown : NPR

President Trump signed a bill to fund the government, ending the longest government shutdown in history, a shutdown that affected millions of Americans and ended with few political benefits.

The bill was passed Wednesday night. despite the Republicans’ narrow margin in the House. six democrats joined their Republican colleagues in getting the bill across the finish line 43 days after the shutdown began: Reps. Henry Cuellar of Texas, Don Davis of North Carolina, Adam Gray of California, Jared Golden of Maine, Marie Gluesenkamp Pérez of Washington and Tom Suozzi of New York.

Two Republicans, Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Greg Steube of Florida, voted against it. The final vote was 222 to 209.

President Trump signed the bill shortly after the House vote. Trump blamed Democrats for the shutdown at the Oval Office signing event.

“This was an easy extension, but they didn’t want to do it the easy way,” Trump said. “They wanted to do it the hard way.”

In addition to extending last year’s spending levels through the end of January for most of the government, the bill provides funding for some agencies through the end of next September, including payments for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The program, which provides food assistance to nearly 1 in 8 Americans, has been stuck in a court battle because of the closure.

The bill includes a measure to reverse layoffs the Trump administration imposed during the shutdown, provides retroactive pay to federal employees and institutes protections against new layoffs.

But the central question underlying the entire closure: extensions of enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies that expire at the end of the year – is not addressed in the bill.

Instead, as part of the Agreement reached with a bipartisan contingent of senators.Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., agreed to hold a vote in mid-December on Democratic-drafted legislation aimed at expanding those subsidies.

That doesn’t sit well with many Senate Democrats, who remain wary of the promise.

“A handshake agreement with my Republican colleagues to reopen the government and no guarantee of actually reducing costs is simply not enough,” said Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., who voted against the measure.

Even if a December bill addressing expiring subsidies passes the Senate, it would have to make it to the House. Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, has not guaranteed that such a bill will come up for a vote.

Lots of pain, not much gain.

Historically, government shutdowns have not been effective tools for advancing a party’s political objectives. The last six weeks have proven that’s the rule, not the exception.

Senate Democrats’ decision not to fund the government before Oct. 1 was driven, at least in part, by the demands of the Democrats’ political base to be a strong opposition party. The party focused on a promise that they would not fund the government unless Republicans agreed to expand subsidies for people who buy health care through the Affordable Care Act marketplace.

The decision came after key Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, voted with Republicans to avoid a shutdown in March. The result was an angry Democratic base, demanding that the minority party exercise what little influence it has to force a negotiation with Republicans in exchange for their votes to fund the government.

With their sights set on expiring subsidies and resulting skyrocketing premiums, Senate Democrats held firm through the October shutdown, hoping that their resolve, coupled with the devastating impacts of the shutdown on millions of Americans, would bring Republicans to the negotiating table.

But the strategy ultimately did not work. Republicans did not make budgets and continued to hold periodic votes to fund the government.

Meanwhile, 42 million Americans participating with SNAP They did not receive the food aid on which they depend. Air traffic controllers and most Transportation Security Administration employees had to remain on the job without pay, leading the Federal Aviation Administration to reduce flights. Millions of federal workers were left without pay.

The group of seven Democrats and one independent senator who voted to end the shutdown acknowledged that waiting longer would not produce a different result.

“There was no guarantee that waiting would give us a better outcome, but there was a guarantee that waiting would impose suffering on more ordinary people,” Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., told NPR.

The result is the end of a shutdown that does not address Democrats’ core demand for subsidies. Instead, they must defend the kind of handshake agreement they once said was insufficient.

Thune’s final agreement with Democrats aligns with his repeated statements during the shutdown that Republicans would be open to negotiating over subsidies that expire only after the government was funded, not before.

Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, one of six Democrats who voted for the bill in the House, said there is still an opportunity to address health care.

“Congress still has a window to pass bipartisan legislation to extend the ACA premium tax credits,” Golden said in a statement. “In September, I joined a bipartisan coalition in the House to introduce legislation to extend the credits for one year, and now, with the shutdown over, I urge members of both parties who care about affordable health care to come back to the table so we can get the job done.”

Another factor that Democrats did not like is the president himself. President Trump has been known to sometimes upset congressional Republicans’ game plan. oh well took a step back during the shutdown and let Thune drive the GOP strategy. He did not take the bait of Democrats, who repeatedly asked where Trump was “the great negotiator” in the discussions.

What happens now?

Both parties have important choices ahead that could lay the groundwork for their political successes and headaches over the next year.

Senate Democrats have about a month to craft a bill that addresses the expiring ACA subsidies in a way that will attract enough Republicans to pass.

If they can win an extension, Democrats will be able to enter 2026 with a political victory in hand that will shape their messaging heading into the midterm elections. If Republicans don’t support it, Democrats will still have what they consider a winning issue — health care — to run on next year.

Some Republicans have shown interest to address subsidies, but want to institute reforms such as fraud prevention and income limits.

And both parties have to deal with the fact that the government only receives funding for a few months. Congress will still have to pass nine more appropriations bills before the continuing resolution ends.