President Donald Trump signed a bipartisan funding bill late Wednesday night to end the 43-day federal government shutdown, the longest in U.S. history. The move came hours after the House approved the measure in a 222-209 vote, sending it to the Oval Office.

The legislation reopens federal agencies, restores pay for hundreds of thousands of workers, and ensures continued funding for food assistance programs, veterans services, and air traffic control operations. Federal workers will receive back pay, and agencies that halted or slowed operations will resume normal activity.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Republicans forced an end to what he called a “Democrat shutdown,” arguing the standoff created unnecessary hardship for federal employees and travelers as flight delays surged nationwide.

Democrats criticized the final agreement for excluding an extension of Affordable Care Act tax credits, their chief demand during the shutdown. Several Democratic senators had crossed the aisle earlier in the week to break the stalemate, though Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) did not.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) warned the fight over healthcare subsidies would continue, saying premiums could rise if Congress does not act before the credits expire at the end of 2025.

Trump said in a recent interview that Democrats overplayed their hand during the shutdown. “He thought he could break the Republicans, and the Republicans broke him,” Trump said Monday, referring to Schumer.

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The shutdown strained staffing at air traffic control facilities heading into the holiday travel season and left federal workers and congressional staff without pay for more than a month.

New Healthcare Push

Hours after the shutdown bill advanced, Trump introduced a new line of healthcare messaging that gained rapid traction online. In a widely shared video posted by journalist Eric Daugherty, Trump called for cutting certain federal payments to insurance companies under the Affordable Care Act and instead routing those funds directly to individual Americans.

“I am calling today for insurance companies NOT to be paid,” Trump said. “But for this massive amount of money be paid DIRECTLY to the people so they can buy their own healthcare.”

“Their stocks have gone up 1,000% because our country STUPIDLY pays them so much money with this Obamacare scandal,” he added.

“I want the money to go directly to YOU, the PEOPLE. … Forget this Obamacare madness!”

Republicans have not yet released legislative language tied to the proposal, but GOP lawmakers are expected to debate subsidy reforms and broader healthcare changes heading into the next funding deadlines in 2026.