The U.S. Congress on Wednesday approved a spending package to end the longest government shutdown in American history, a 43-day standoff that paralyzed Washington and left hundreds of thousands of federal workers unpaid, but the resolution immediately triggered a fierce internal reckoning within the Democratic Party over a perceived capitulation.
The Republican-led House of Representatives voted largely along party lines to pass the Senate-approved measure, which President Donald Trump is scheduled to sign late Wednesday evening. The deal funds military construction, veterans’ affairs, and several departments through next fall, with the rest of the government funded through the end of January.
The agreement means approximately 670,000 furloughed civil servants, along with unpaid essential staff—including more than 60,000 air traffic controllers—will return to work and receive back pay. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the shutdown caused $14 billion in lost economic growth.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) blamed Democrats for the politically driven crisis in a floor speech before the vote, asserting the party “knew that it would cause pain, and they did it anyway.” He added, “The whole exercise was pointless. It was wrong and it was cruel.”
The political spotlight, however, shifted to the Democrats, who had held firm for five weeks on refusing to reopen the government without an agreement to extend pandemic-era tax credits for health insurance. That tough stance crumbled after a group of eight
Senate moderates broke ranks to cut a deal offering only a non-binding promise of a vote on health care subsidies in the Senate.
The compromise sparked an immediate backlash from the party’s progressive base. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is facing calls for his resignation from some House Democrats for failing to maintain party unity. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) defended the outcome, saying the party had “elevated successfully the issue of the Republican health care crisis, and we’re not backing away from it.”
Outside Washington, prominent Democrats vying for the 2028 presidential nomination condemned the deal. California Governor Gavin Newsom called the agreement “pathetic,” while former transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg labeled it a “bad deal.” (with AFP)
