President Donald Trump has signed a funding bill to reopen the U.S. government, ending the longest shutdown in American history after 43 days.
The signing took place in the Oval Office, where the president made remarks before putting pen to paper on the measure that restores funding to federal agencies, departments, and programs.
The bill also ensures back pay for hundreds of thousands of federal employees who had been furloughed or worked without pay since the shutdown began on October 1.
Calling the day “a great day,” Trump said the bill would bring relief to affected workers and restore normal government operations. “The country has never been in better shape,” he said moments before signing.
The president used the occasion to launch a strong attack on Democrats, whom he blamed for the crisis.
“Democrats’ desire for healthcare subsidies would have really hurt our healthcare businesses,” he said.
He described the 43-day shutdown as “extortion,” adding, “That is what it was. The Democrats tried to extort our country.”
Trump insisted the shutdown happened “purely for political reasons,” arguing that “people were hurt so badly” by the standoff.
“Nobody’s ever seen anything like this one,” he said, citing widespread disruptions including more than 20,000 delayed or cancelled flights, suspended food benefits, and unpaid federal workers.
The president urged Americans not to forget the episode when they head to the polls for the midterm elections in November 2026.
“I just want to tell the American people, you should not forget this when we come up to the midterms,” he said, accusing Democrats of having been “happy for millions of Americans to suffer.”
The deal to reopen the government followed days of tense negotiations in the Senate, which finally broke a deadlock on Sunday.
Since then, Trump’s mood has shifted from frustration to celebration. On Tuesday, he congratulated congressional Republicans and hailed the vote to reopen the government as “a very big victory.”
“We’re opening up our country,” he said during a Veterans Day commemoration at Arlington Cemetery. “It should never have been closed.”
Speaking earlier on Fox News, Trump also took a swipe at Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, saying, “He thought he could break the Republican Party, and the Republicans broke him.”
Although there were moments when Trump appeared to waver—at one point berating Senate Republicans for refusing to abolish the filibuster—the president ultimately ended the shutdown without making major concessions.
While his approval ratings have dipped over the past 40 days, Trump remains confident about his standing.
With a year until the next congressional elections and no further campaigns of his own to face, the president appeared defiant, declaring victory even as the political fallout continues to unfold.
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