Trump signs temporary budget, ending 43-day federal shutdown

Shafaq News – Washington

US President Donald Trump on Thursday signed a temporary spending bill passed by Congress, ending the nation’s longest government shutdown, which lasted 43 days.

“Today we are sending a clear message that we will never give in to extortion, because that’s what it was,” Trump said during the signing ceremony at the White House.

He noted it could take “weeks, perhaps months” to assess the full impact of what he described as the Democrats’ actions, accusing them of “taking pleasure” in the hardship Americans endured during the shutdown.

Earlier this week, the Senate and the House of Representatives reached a short-term deal to fund the government through January 31, with further negotiations expected later in the fiscal year on a full-year budget to avert another closure.

The compromise came after weeks of stalled negotiations over health care funding and government spending. The partial shutdown, which began on October 1, disrupted air travel, delayed food aid for millions, and left tens of thousands of federal employees without pay.

The White House also noted that the dispute slowed economic growth by up to two percentage points in the final quarter of the year.