As of day 42 of the government shutdown, there is a crunch vote to end this longest-running shutdown. Representatives are now returning to Washington state to decide whether to approve a Senate package that will fund federal agencies for two months. This past Wednesday, November 12, 2025, they decided whether to agree or disagree with this vote.
This government shutdown began on October 1st and now has officially ended on November 13th when the final bill vote was signed by Donald Trump to end the shutdown. While this shutdown may have ended, the impact may be long-lasting for a while until we get everything back in order.
Trump had said that the government would “resume normal operations,” even after the heavy impact this shutdown had on many people around the United States. After all the chaos and problems this shutdown has caused over the 43 days, returning to normal without any difficulties will be a big challenge for many who have suffered greatly. With the SNAP benefits being down and over 1,200 flights being canceled, there will be lots to make up before everything can officially be called back to normal.
Lots of people were either getting underpaid or not getting paid at all due to this shutdown, resulting in some very difficult situations to take care of for those people. Due to this, there is still much work that needs to be done for those people who weren’t able to earn the money they need to live. After all this, some people may still not receive enough compensation due to the prolonged government shutdown and its significant impact on them.
This bill will only last until the 30th of January; before the funding will have to come from somewhere else. After that point, the government will need a new plan to get the money needed to keep it open, which may result in another shutdown if they don’t find a way to fund it.
Before Trump had signed the bill, he said, “They did it purely for political reasons. When we come up to midterms and other things, don’t forget what they’ve done to our country,” to blame the Democratic party for this year’s shutdown.
This year’s shutdown was caused by the Democrats and Republicans not coming to an agreement on a healthcare spending bill. Due to the Democrats not wanting to back the Republican budget plan unless expiring healthcare subsidies are renewed, the Republicans wanted to negotiate those separately. The Democrats also wanted to reverse Trump’s cut to Medicaid, which is a government healthcare program that works to help Americans who may struggle to pay for a healthcare plan. The Republicans wanted to save taxpayers’ money and eliminate the waste and fraud, but the Democrats voted against it in the end.
