After 43 days, the longest US government shutdown in history is coming to an end.
Federal workers will start receiving pay again, National Parks will reopen, and government services that had been curtailed will resume. Air travel, which had become a nightmare for many Americans, will return to being merely frustrating.
Following President Donald Trump's signature on the funding bill, what has this record-setting shutdown accomplished, and at what cost?
Senate Democrats triggered the shutdown by refusing to agree to a Republican measure for temporary funding, demanding an extension of health insurance subsidies for low-income Americans. However, as several Democrats broke ranks to vote for reopening, they received little in return—only a promise of a Senate vote on the subsidies.
Frustrations have intensified within the party, particularly among its left flank, with critics accusing Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of incompetence. Even mainstream Democrats like California's Governor Gavin Newsom have labeled the deal as a 'surrender.'
For Trump, the end of the shutdown is a turning point as he declares victory while Democrats wrestle with their internal dissent. His apparent lack of concessions during the negotiations raises questions over longer-term impacts on voter sentiment as election cycles loom.
As Congress prepares to return to regular proceedings, urgent issues such as healthcare subsidies and upcoming spending approvals are on the horizon, highlighting the ongoing political turbulence in the United States.
