The longest government shutdown in American history, one that lasted for 43 days, ended yesterday as President Donald Trump signed the bill that was approved through both the House and Senate. Six democrats ended the deadlock by agreeing to sign the bill with Republicans to further extend funding for the government until Jan. 30, 2026. Former legislative liaison for a senator and a House committee, as well as AP United States Government and AP Comparative Government teacher Cary Waxler, brings in the latest details on the contents of the bill to end the shutdown.
“So the bill itself was a type of bill called a continuing resolution. A continuing resolution is used to, as the name suggests, continue spending that was already done. The government funds, so the executive branch agencies can only use the money that Congress has approved for them to spend. It is referred to as an apportionment. So this government shutdown began when the apportioned money ran out, and so there was no congressional authority to spend additional money,” Waxler said.
With the renewed funding for the government, federal workers will be receiving back pay (payment for their work during the shutdown) and paychecks afterward. However, these payments will not be coming in until Nov. 19 at the earliest. Waxler speaks on how that process will proceed.
“A law was passed after the last government shutdown that mandated that government workers must be paid. So those checks, according to the Office of Personnel Management, which is kind of like the human resources department for the federal government, have said that those checks will begin going out on Nov. 19,” Waxler said. “So those workers who have gone without a few paychecks will have to go about another week before those paychecks get issued. Federal workers were required to report back to their normal duty stations beginning today, Thursday, Nov. 13.”
Waxler speaks on how Congress has put things in place to make sure something like this does not occur again.
“So one ability of the Congress is that they could make rules for their own chambers or pass laws to prevent government shutdowns. They’ve chosen not to do that. The next continuing resolution that just got signed by the president at about 10:30 p.m. on the evening of Wednesday, Nov. 12, has a funding deadline of Jan. 30. So, if Congress cannot come up with another funding plan, another apportionment plan. By Jan. 30, we’re gonna be back in the same situation,” Waxler said.
