Key Takeaways
President Trump signed a bill to end the US government shutdown.
The resolution aims to address ongoing issues such as health care reform, economic growth, and tax reductions.
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President Trump today signed legislation ending the US government shutdown, reopening federal agencies after extended congressional negotiations over spending priorities. Trump criticized Democrats for the 43-day shutdown, the longest in American history, created “purely for political reasons.”
The president said the shutdown caused 20,000 flights to be cancelled or delayed, deprived more than 1 million government workers of paychecks, and cut off food stamp benefits for millions of Americans. He said tens of thousands of federal contractors and small businesses went unpaid.
“The total effect of the damage their antics caused will take weeks and probably months to really calculate accurately, including the serious harm that they did to our economy and to people and to families,” Trump said. “So I just want to tell the American people you should not forget this when we come up to midterms and other things.”
The House of Representatives passed the bipartisan funding measure with support from Democrats joining Republicans, marking a breakthrough in a prolonged dispute. The Senate had advanced an amended version of the legislation days earlier, setting the stage for final approval and presidential signature.
Trump called for the termination of the filibuster “so that this can never happen again.” He said Democrats would do it immediately if they assumed office. He also thanked the eight Senate Democrats who voted to end the shutdown.
Federal workers are set to return to their duties, with government services restarting following the bill’s enactment. The shutdown resulted from congressional disagreements over federal spending priorities.
