Congress votes to reopen government after longest shutdown in US history
The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation on Nov. 12, previously cleared by the Senate, to reopen the federal government and end a 43-day shutdown, the longest in U.S. history.
The vote came after Speaker Mike Johnson reconvened the chamber for the first time since Sept. 19.
Lawmakers approved the bill in a 222–209 vote, sending the measure to President Donald Trump’s desk to restore frozen federal funding, which he signed and finalized shortly after.
The Senate had already advanced the same legislation on Monday 60-40, after eight Democrats crossed party lines to join Republicans in breaking a filibuster and clearing the 60-vote threshold.
Both chambers passing the measure paves the way for the government to fully resume operations.
The shutdown began after Democrats and Republicans failed to agree on government funding, forcing hundreds of thousands of federal employees to stay home or work without pay.
According to Axios, a State Department official said that the shutdown had stalled over $5 billion in weapons sales for NATO allies and Ukraine, delaying both government-to-government transfers and export licenses for private defense firms.
