The U.S. shutdown is over: Trump signs bill ending over 6 weeks of government paralysis

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill Wednesday to end the nation's longest government shutdown, which President Donald Trump signed later in the evening.

It marks the end of a historic 43-day funding lapse that saw federal workers go without multiple paycheques, travellers stranded at airports, and people lining up at food banks to get a meal for their families.

House lawmakers made their long-awaited return to Washington, D.C., this week after nearly eight weeks away, with Republicans using their slight majority to get the bill over the finish line by a vote of 222-209.

The Senate has already passed the measure.

Trump's signature draws to a close the second government shutdown he's overseen in the White House, one that magnified partisan divisions in Washington as his administration took unprecedented unilateral actions — including cancelling projects and trying to fire federal workers — to pressure Democrats into relenting on their demands.

Democrats wanted to extend an enhanced tax credit expiring at the end of the year that lowers the cost of health coverage obtained through Affordable Care Act marketplaces. They refused to go along with a short-term spending bill that did not include that priority.

But Republicans said that was a separate policy fight to be held at another time.

"We told you 43 days ago from bitter experience that government shutdowns don't work," said Rep. Tom Cole, the Republican chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.

"They never achieve the objective that you announce. And guess what? You haven't achieved that objective yet, and you're not going to."

The shutdown magnified the stark partisan divisions within Congress, and that split was reflected when lawmakers debated the measure on the House floor.

Republicans said Democrats sought to use the pain generated by the shutdown to prevail in a policy dispute.

"They knew it would cause pain and they did it anyway," U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson said.

'This fight is not over'

Democrats said Republicans raced to pass tax breaks earlier this year that they say will mostly benefit the wealthy, but the bill before the House on Wednesday "leaves families twisting in the wind with zero guarantee there will ever, ever be a vote to extend tax credits to help everyday people pay for their health care," said Rep. Jim McGovern, a Democrat from Massachusetts.

Democratic House Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Democrats would not give up on the subsidy extension even if the vote did not go their way.

"This fight is not over," Jeffries said. "We're just getting started."

The House had not been in legislative session since Sept. 19, when it passed a short-term measure to keep the government open when the new budget year began in October.

Johnson sent lawmakers home after that vote and put the onus on the Senate to act, saying House Republicans had done their job.

8 senators broke ranks with Democrats

The legislation included buy-in from eight senators who broke ranks with the Democrats after reaching the conclusion that Republicans would not bend on using a government funding bill to extend the health-care tax credits. Meanwhile, the shutdown's toll was growing by the day.

The compromise funds three annual spending bills and extends the rest of government funding through Jan. 30. Republicans promised to hold a vote by mid-December to extend the health-care subsidies, but there is no guarantee of success.

"We had reached a point where I think a number of us believed that the shutdown had been very effective in raising the concern about health care," said Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire. The promise for a future vote "gives us an opportunity to continue to address that going forward."

The legislation includes a reversal of the firing of federal workers by the Trump administration since the shutdown began. It also protects federal workers against further layoffs through January and guarantees they are paid once the shutdown is over.