Donald Trump Signs Government Funding Bill Ending 43-Day Shutdown

Washington DC: American Donald Trump has signed the funding bill ending a historic 43 day shutdown of the government. The republican President blamed Democrats for the shutdown and suggested that the citizens should not side with the Democrats during next year's mid-term elections. The bill was approved in the House with a majority of 222 against 209 votes. Trump signed the bill immediately after it was passed.

A bipartisan agreement in the Senate paved the way to rend the government shutdown. The Senate approved a temporary funding bill to keep government operations running until January 31. Eight Democratic senators supported the measure. The agreement also included halting the mass layoffs of federal employees that had resulted from the shutdown. However, one of the Democrats’ key demands—a health care tax credit—was not included in the current deal but will be reconsidered next month.

The shutdown began on October 1, the start of the U.S. federal fiscal year, after Senate Democrats rejected a short-term funding measure. Around $1.7 trillion in federal funding was frozen due to the budget impasse, roughly one-fourth of annual federal spending. The rest of the federal budget is primarily allocated to health care, social security, and interest payments on the national debt, which has now surpassed $37.5 trillion. The failure to pass the budget bill by the start of the fiscal year triggered the crisis, with disagreements over including healthcare provisions becoming the main sticking point between the White House and Democrats.

During the shutdown, thousands of federal employees were furloughed. The shortage of air traffic controllers led to the cancellation of 20,000 flights, and more than one million government workers went without pay.