After more than 42 days of a record federal funding lapse, the House on Wednesday evening passed legislation to reopen the government and sent it to President Donald Trump for signature. The White House said he will sign the bill at 9:45 p.m.
The package follows Senate action earlier in the week and keeps most agencies operating through January 30, while setting full-year funding for the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Agriculture, as well as the legislative branch.
The House vote came largely along party lines after weeks of stalled talks since Oct. 1. GOP leaders argued the bill ends uncertainty for federal workers and restores critical services, while Democrats criticized the absence of an extension for Affordable Care Act premium subsidies that expire this year. A Senate roll call showed a 60–40 margin, with several Democrats joining Republicans to advance the compromise.
What is in the bill and how it passed
The agreement funds day-to-day operations at current levels through Jan. 30, avoiding deeper program cuts that had been discussed during the standoff. It also provides full-year appropriations for VA and USDA, meaning those departments will not face another stopgap deadline next month.
House debate stretched into the evening before passage, with leadership emphasizing the need to stabilize air travel, benefits processing and agency staffing that had been disrupted during the shutdown.
The White House signaled support ahead of the vote, saying the bill would be signed the same night. The signing plan capped a rapid sequence that began when the Senate cleared its version and transmitted it across the Capitol for House consideration.
Where each party stood
Most House Democrats opposed the bill because it did not include an extension of enhanced ACA tax credits.
Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries reiterated that position hours before the vote, framing the omission as the central reason for Democratic resistance. Party leaders argued that allowing the credits to lapse could raise costs for families next year, and pressed for guarantees on a floor vote to address the issue.
Speaker Mike Johnson sounded confident that the shutdown would end with Wednesday’s vote, telling reporters the chamber was prepared to close the chapter after a protracted fight. Republicans have said they are open to broader health policy talks but refused to tie any partisan provisions to the basic task of funding the government.
The Senate compromise included a side agreement to hold a December vote on the ACA credits in that chamber, though there is no matching commitment in the House.
GOP friction over a late provision
In the final hours, House Republicans confronted internal friction over a provision that would allow senators whose communications were tapped during a special counsel probe to sue the federal government for $500,000 each.
Rep. Chip Roy of Texas and others raised objections but said they would not extend the shutdown over it. Speaker Johnson said the House would take up a separate bill next week to repeal the clause, an assurance that helped keep the conference unified for final passage.
Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., broke with leadership and voted no, citing the same provision. His opposition was not enough to sink the bill, which cleared the chamber with votes to spare. Republicans characterized the dispute as a fixable policy error that should not stand in the way of reopening the government.
Impact of the shutdown and why the stakes rose
The shutdown’s strain showed up in transportation and public services. Air traffic controllers and TSA agents reported taking second jobs to bridge missed paychecks, which compounded staffing gaps at major airports.
Flight delays and cancellations mounted in the final week as schedules buckled under the combined stress of staffing and weather. Federal benefits programs also neared funding limits, putting recipients in limbo.
Business groups and governors pressed Congress to act, warning that a longer shutdown could dent regional economies that depend on federal spending. With food assistance and housing programs close to the line, the Senate moved its package first, inviting the House to follow to avert deeper collateral damage.
