Washington, Nov 13 (UNI) US President Donald Trump on Wednesday night signed into law a bipartisan funding bill to reopen the federal government, officially ending the 43-day shutdown — the longest in the country's history.
The House of Representatives passed the measure earlier in the day by 222 votes to 209, before sending it to the President's desk for signing the accord into effect.
Trump signed the bill during a ceremony at the White House, surrounded by senior Republican lawmakers, including House Speaker Mike Johnson.
"Shutting down the government is no way to run a country," the President said before signing, reports Axios. "I hope we can all agree that the government should never be shut down again."
The Wednesday vote marked the House of Reps' first session in 54 days, as lawmakers had been in recess throughout the shutdown. Following the end of the shutdown, lawmakers are expected to return to Washington by next week to address the massive backlog of legislative businesses.
The bill funds the government through January 30, reverses thousands of federal worker layoffs that began after October 1, and provides full-year funding for several key federal agencies.
The shutdown — now concluded after nearly seven weeks — had left hundreds of thousands of federal employees without pay and disrupted essential services, from food assistance to air travel, across the country.

The vote also reflected deep divisions within both parties. Two Republicans, Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Greg Steube (R-Fla.), voted against the bill, joining the majority of Democrats.
Meanwhile, six Democrats — Jared Golden (D-Maine), Adam Gray (D-Calif.), Don Davis (D-N.C.), Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-Wash.), Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.), and Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) — crossed the aisle to vote in favour of the deal.
The bill's passage came after eight Senate Democrats broke ranks to negotiate with Republicans and the White House, agreeing to reopen the government in exchange for a promise of a Senate vote in December on extending Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits before they expire at year's end.
However, the agreement does not include the subsidies themselves, a key Democratic demand, prompting fierce backlash from party leadership.
In a whip notice sent earlier this week, House Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) wrote: "The Senate-negotiated package does absolutely nothing to address the Republican health care crisis."
The massive outrage within the Democratic caucus, following the bipartisan deal, further intensified following the vote, with many liberals calling for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) to step down, accusing him of failing to unite the party during negotiations.
While the funding bill brings temporary relief, several contentious issues — particularly the fight over health care subsidies and long-term spending — remain unresolved, setting the stage for another political battle when the current funding measure expires in late January.
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