It's Finally Over! But the US Government Faces Another Shutdown Risk in January Next Year

The White House announced on Wednesday evening (local time, 12th) that US President Trump has signed a bill to restart government operations. According to the White House statement, the bill signed by Trump, titled the "Continuing Appropriations for 2026, Agriculture, Legislative Branch, Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Extensions Act," will provide continuing appropriations for the federal government, funding most government agencies until January 30, 2026.

This federal government shutdown, the longest in US history which began on October 1st, lasted 43 days. It led to interruptions in food stamp benefits, left hundreds of thousands of federal employees working without pay, and brought the air traffic control system to the brink of paralysis.

The primary point of contention triggering this US government shutdown was healthcare. Democrats consistently demanded a one-year extension of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax subsidies, while Republicans proposed a series of alternative plans to the ACA subsidies. One such alternative, put forward by Trump, involved providing direct payments or tax rebate checks to replace the ACA subsidies.

Rosa DeLauro, a senior Democratic member of the House Appropriations Committee, stated that the same issue could trigger another government shutdown in January next year.

Speaking on the House floor before the vote, House Minority Leader and Democratic Representative from New York, Hakeem Jeffries, stated that Democrats would continue fighting for affordable healthcare and lowering living costs. "This fight is not over; we are just getting started," Jeffries said. He argued that during the shutdown, Republicans were "consistently unwilling" to seek common ground with Democrats to improve the lives of Americans.

"Either Republicans finally decide this year to extend the Affordable Care Act's tax credits, or the American people will vote them out of office next year, definitively ending Donald Trump's tenure as 'Speaker'," Jeffries has stated. He claimed that Trump is the real Speaker due to his significant influence over the House Republican Conference and Speaker Johnson.