The longest shutdown in United States history will be able to end after Congress on Wednesday, November 12 passed a possible law to eliminate the country’s budget paralysis.
The White House had announced earlier in the day that Donald Trump would soon sign the text for enactment, ending the forty-three-day crisis that has disrupted several sectors of the American economy, in particular, due to the blocking of a number of federal services.
After the Senate, on Monday, the House of Representatives in turn approved, on Wednesday, the budget bill, described as “a huge win” by Donald Trump, with 222 votes in favor and 209 against. Only six elected Democrats joined the president’s majority, while two Republicans expressed their disapproval.
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson welcomed the end “a long national nightmare”, starting on the 1stuh October. Later, he criticized the Democratic opposition’s six-week blockade. “They knew it would cause suffering, and they did it anyway. The whole maneuver was unnecessary, unfair and cruel.”said the speaker from Hemicycle.
The House of Representatives has not met since September 19, when it adopted temporary measures to ensure the continued functioning of the state during the launch of the new fiscal year in October. After this vote, Johnson sent the lawmakers home and handed the task over to the Senate, confident that Republicans in the lower house of Congress had achieved their mission.
Dismissed civil servants will be rehired
After nearly six weeks of budget stalemate, a handful of Democratic senators finally gave in on Monday, and with their Republican colleagues approved a new bill, extending the previous budget through the end of January. However, the text did not provide clarity regarding extending subsidies for Obamacare, health insurance for low-income households, to the dismay of many and many elected Democrats.
Among the only concessions made to the opposition, the law provides for the reinstatement of civil servants dismissed since the start of the government shutdown. It also includes funding for the Food Assistance Program (SNAP) through September, thereby preventing a freeze on aid that benefits more than 42 million Americans if another budget collapse occurs at the end of January, as is the case with the current blockade.
Due to the rules in force in the Senate, eight opposition votes were required to adopt the text. The eight Democrats who validated the bill have drawn the ire of many members of their camp, who decried Republicans’ meager concessions and false promises. California Governor, Gavin Newsom, regretted this “give up” and a “betrayal” to work in America.
Many Democrats are also wondering why these senators are throwing in the towel just days after their party’s sweeping wins in key elections across the country, which they say validates their strategy in Congress.
Obamacare is in question
The Democratic minority leader in the House of Representatives, Hakeem Jeffries, again called on Republicans on Wednesday evening to make good on their promise to quickly hold a vote on Obamacare. “We believe that working-class Americans, middle-class Americans, and everyday Americans deserve the same level of certainty that Republicans have consistently provided to the wealthy, the wealthy, and long-term donors.”he said in a speech from Hemicycle. “It’s not too late” to expand these subsidies, added the Democratic Party tenor.
The issue of subsidies was at the heart of the dispute that led to the shutdown of the government. Without its extension, health insurance costs are expected to double by 2026 for the twenty-four million Americans on Obamacare, according to KFF, a think tank specializing in health issues.
Especially since the 1stuh In October, due to the closure of services, more than a million civil servants were unpaid, certain aid payments were severely disrupted and tens of thousands of flights were canceled due to a shortage of air traffic controllers, some of whom chose to call in sick rather than work without pay.
