Wednesday night the US House of Representatives voted to end the 43-day government shutdown and Trump signed the bill to reopen the government.
The package included three appropriation bills: the reversal of over 4,000 federal layoffs during the shutdown, funding for several agencies through the rest of the fiscal year, and funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) through Sep. 2026. The rest of the federal government will be funded through Jan. 30th. The package didn't extend expiring Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies, which is the argument that triggered the shutdown.
Some voices on the moderate left were glad to see the end of the shutdown, while others on the left opposed the ending of the shutdown because the ACA was not addressed. On the right, many were glad to see the Democrats cave.
Virginia Senator Tim Kaine (D) wrote in the New York Times Opinion (Left bias), “I understand those who believe that continuing the shutdown would have compelled Republicans to restrain health care costs, despite their unwavering claim that they would only engage on the issue once the government reopened. I have close knowledge of key actors, and I do not believe Republicans would have conceded on health care during the shutdown. That was true even after their electoral wipeout last week, and even with polls showing that many Americans blamed Republicans for the shutdown. More likely, the chaos of continuing the shutdown would have led them to eliminate the Senate filibuster so they could pass a government funding bill with no Democratic votes, a dangerous consolidation of one-party rule.”
A Fox News Opinion (Right) claimed that the shutdown destroyed public trust. “Republicans believe they’re standing on principle — fighting for fiscal responsibility. But their language sounds punitive, not principled. You can’t claim to be the voice of working people while shutting off their paychecks or threatening their benefits. Even if the policy makes sense, the story doesn’t. Democrats believe they’re protecting people. But their language often sounds like performance. Voters hear moral superiority, not moral clarity. Compassion isn’t persuasive when it feels like condescension. In other words: Republicans are losing on empathy, Democrats are losing on credibility, and everyone is losing on connection.”
A USA Today (Lean Left) columnist argued, “For more than a month, Democrats held the line and refused to cave to the GOP. Until, that is, some Democrats decided to ignore the party’s game plan and voted with the Republican Party out of some sense of duty, which means that Republicans are likely to take away the ACA subsidies that ignited the shutdown in the first place.” She added, “Schumer is the leader of the party, and he should be running a tight ship. Yet I don’t think the entire blame is Schumer’s to bear – at the end of the day, these moderate Democrats should understand not to trust the empty promises of Republicans who have no desire to maintain the social safety net.”
In the Washington Times (Lean Right) a writer said, “All that said, the Democrats, intentionally or otherwise, achieved two material things. First, they blunted the political momentum of congressional Republicans and the president, who have pretty much had the run of the place for the past year or so. It is tough to sell economic gains, affordability, restoration of law and order, and whatever might be going on elsewhere in the world when one’s own government is having difficulty feeding the hungry and landing planes…Second, the Democrats received a fairly specific promise that the Senate would have a vote on the enhanced tax credits for the Affordable Care Act premiums. That seems like an important concession, given that the president has indicated he is willing to play Let’s Make a Deal on this issue.”
