Today, Wednesday (12/11/2025), the House of Representatives in the US Congress approved an agreement that puts an end to the longest government closure in the country’s history, which lasted 43 days after disagreements between Republicans and Democrats.
The House approved the Senate’s bill Monday to reopen the government by a vote of 222 to 209, with six Democrats voting in favor and two Republicans voting against.
The action will now be moved to the Oval Office, where United States President Donald Trump summoned the press at 9:45 p.m. local time (2:45 GMT) to sign the agreement in front of the cameras and end the longest closure in the country’s history.
Six Democrats joined Republicans to pass the bill. Only two Republicans voted against it: Representatives Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Greg Steube of Florida.
“History reminds us that government shutdowns never change the outcome, only the cost to the American people,” said Rep. Tom Cole, Republican of Oklahoma, chairman of the Appropriations Committee. “Over the past 43 days, the facts have not changed, the votes needed have not changed, and the path forward has not changed.”
Hardline Democrats criticized the approved measure because it ruled out extending federal Obamacare subsidies that expire at the end of the year.
The measure includes restoring jobs to those who were laid off
For her part, New York Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez confirmed that the Trump administration acted “brutally” against the American people during the lockdown by trying to stop full federal funding for food stamps on which about 42 million residents depend.
The measure approved by the House on Wednesday includes a spending package that would fund the government through January, as well as three separate spending bills to cover programs related to agriculture, military construction, veterans and legislative agencies through most of 2026.
In addition, US media reported that Republicans “quietly” added a clause allowing the ruling party to sue the government for at least half a million dollars to investigate it into the attack on the Capitol building on January 6, 2021.
The package includes a provision that would reverse federal layoffs made during the shutdown and guarantee retroactive pay for those furloughed.
Various federal agencies had previously asked their workers to return to their jobs on Thursday because after Trump signed tonight the shutdown would have expired.
MG (AFI, AFP)
About The Author
