US ends 43-day shutdown: House passes funding bill; Donald Trump to sign

The US House of Representatives has voted to approve legislation to reopen the federal government, bringing an end to what has become the longest shutdown the country has ever witnessed.

The measure passed with a vote of 222 to 209, with six Democrats joining Republicans to support the bill. The shutdown has stretched 43 days, affecting hundreds of thousands of government employees; many are working without pay, furloughed, or laid off.

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Bill heads to Trump for signature

The Senate had cleared the same bill on Monday, and the House only needed a simple majority to move it forward. With Wednesday’s vote, the legislation now goes to President Donald Trump, who is expected to sign it at the White House later today.

The House reconvened at 4 pm local time (21:00 GMT), opening its session by swearing in Arizona Democrat Adelita Grijalva, before moving to the shutdown vote.

What’s in the 328-page funding bill

The bill funds most federal agencies through January 30, while programmes such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the Department of Agriculture, Congress, and Veterans Affairs will be financed through next September.

All federal workers will receive full back pay, and layoffs triggered by the shutdown will be reversed.

But the legislation also includes several new and controversial provisions:

• It bars federal prosecutors from accessing senators’ phone records without prior notice, with penalties of up to USD 500,000 for each violation.
• This rule applies retroactively to 2022, enabling some Republican senators to sue over records obtained during investigations into Trump’s role in the January 2021 Capitol riot.
• It overturns the 2018 legalisation of hemp-derived low-THC products — an industry that has since grown into a multibillion-dollar market producing edibles and beverages.

However, Democrats failed to secure one of their key demands: an automatic extension of health insurance subsidies used by roughly 24 million Americans. However, lawmakers agreed to revisit the issue in December.

Trump to address the nation

Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that President Trump will speak from the White House at 9:45 pm ET (02:45 GMT; 8:15 AM IST) after signing the bill into law.

More updates are expected as Washington moves to resume full government operations after the record-breaking shutdown.