House votes to end the longest shutdown in history : NPR

AILSA CHANG, HOST:

The House passed legislation to reopen the government. The bill passed the Senate earlier this week and President Trump is expected to sign it tonight, ending the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. NPR congressional correspondent Deirdre Walsh has been following this bill and what comes next and joins us now. Hi Deirdre.

DEIRDRE WALSH, BYLINE: Hey, Ailsa.

CHANG: All right, so after 43 days, Congress reached an agreement to reopen the government. What exactly is in this agreement?

WALSH: Well, this bill funds most federal agencies through the end of January. It also includes three spending bills that were negotiated between the two parties, and these include a full year of funding for some agencies like the Veterans Administration, money for food assistance programs. It also includes a provision to reverse layoffs implemented by the Trump administration since the shutdown began. But one thing it doesn’t include is the central issue that prompted the shutdown: Democrats’ demand to expand health care subsidies that expire at the end of this year.

CHANG: That’s right, and we know that most Democratic senators didn’t like that deal because it didn’t address health care subsidies. So how do House Democrats feel?

WALSH: They’re not happy about it either. I mean, many House Democrats, coming out of a caucus meeting this morning, pointed to the off-year election results from last week. Democratic candidates won two gubernatorial races, as well as some local elections, and they say voters supported the shutdown strategy and believed Democrats had more leverage to force action on health care. California Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna just broke the compromise.

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RO KHANNA: I think the American people have been mistreated. Twenty million Americans will see their premiums skyrocket. I don’t think they appreciate the fact that we didn’t fight hard enough.

CHANG: Well, the health care subsidies, Deirdre, expire at the end of December, so is Congress going to do anything before then?

WALSH: That’s not a lot of time. I mean, the majority in the Senate…

CHANG: Yeah.

WALSH: …Leader John Thune has agreed to hold a vote by mid-December on the legislation Democrats are working on. But that’s just a few weeks before those tax credits expire. Some Republican senators want to address the issue, but there is no agreement on the details: how long the subsidies would be extended, if they were to cap them based on income level. Senate Democrats who negotiated the deal say President Trump is under real pressure to commit. They say, you know, more people in red states that supported Trump rely on these subsidies than in blue states.

CHANG: OK, but that’s on the Senate side. What about the House side?

WALSH: I mean, House Speaker Mike Johnson hasn’t committed to any vote on health care in the House, even if the Senate passed something. You know, Democrats think the premium hikes that people should see very soon get at the heart of the cost-of-living concerns that were at the center of last week’s election. They think this is something that will resonate in the 2026 midterms. We saw House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries hold a rally on the East Front of the Capitol earlier today. He vowed to make a problem out of it.

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HAKEEM JEFFRIES: House Democrats will continue the fight to solve the Republican health care crisis, and House Democrats will fight to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits. This fight is not over. We are just getting started.

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CHANG: OK, this fight isn’t over, but assuming the president signs this bill quickly, do you have any idea how long it will take for government services to resume and workers to see paychecks again?

WALSH: Well, under the law, federal workers are entitled to back pay, and the directive is that they must return to work as soon as possible once the bill is signed, and they will be paid as soon as possible. One thing we can see as a small holdover from the shutdown are delays at airports due to staff shortages. The Transport Secretary said he would assess the restrictions when considering whether staff numbers would return to normal.

CHANG: That’s Deirdre Walsh from NPR. Thanks Deirdre.

WALSH: Thank you, Ailsa.

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