On Wednesday evening (local time; Thursday morning Greek time), Donald Trump signed a bill ending the longest government shutdown in US history, which lasted 43 days. taking the opportunity to lash out at the Democratic opposition and once again proclaim the virtues of his economic policy.
«Today we are sending a clear message that we will never give in to blackmail,» the tycoon said pointedly, addressing his Democratic opponents, before signing the text, cheered on by Republican lawmakers who surrounded him in the Oval Office.
Emphasizing the triumphant exit from the endless stalemate, he lashed out against the «extremists of the other party,» who, according to him, paralyzed the state apparatus for ’purely political reasons.«.
«The country has never been better,» the tycoon assured, even though polls show growing dissatisfaction among Americans with the state of the economy.
His White House staff had already announced before the vote in the House of Representatives that President Trump would sign the bill immediately after its approval, in order to end the «disastrous» 43-day shutdown, which caused a host of problems in sectors of the US economy.
Earlier yesterday, following its adoption by the Senate on Monday, the House of Representatives approved the bill by 222 votes to 209. Only six members of the Democratic parliamentary group sided with the presidential majority, while two Republicans voted against the bill.
Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson expressed satisfaction at the end of the «long national nightmare.» He then hammered the Democrats, who he said caused the six-week deadlock.
«They knew this would cause suffering, and they did it anyway. The whole maneuver was pointless, it was unfair, it was inhumane,’ he told the semicircle.
«Obamacare»
After more than 40 days of fiscal paralysis, a handful of Democratic senators finally surrendered on Monday, joining their Republican colleagues in passing a bill that breaks the deadlock and extends the current budget until the end of January.
However, the text is vague on the extension of subsidies for Obamacare, a health insurance and healthcare assistance program for lower-income households, much to the dismay of many Democratic elected officials.
One of the few concessions to the opposition is that the bill provides for the reinstatement of federal civil servants who were laid off when the shutdown began on October 1.
It also provides funds for SNAP, a food assistance program, through September, thereby averting the risk that this assistance, which benefits more than 42 million Americans, would be frozen in the event of a new fiscal stalemate at the end of January, as happened in the previous 43 days.
Due to the rules of the upper house, eight votes from the opposition were required for the text to be adopted. The eight Democratic members became the target of rhetorical thunderbolts from the opposition, which denounced the other side's slipshod concessions and false promises.
Gavin Newsom's reaction via X was characteristic, criticizing the «capitulation» and «betrayal» of American workers.
Other Democrats questioned why the eight senators backed down just days after the party's candidates won major victories in important local elections, which they believed justified their stance in Congress.
«It's not too late.»
The leader of the Democratic minority in the House of Representatives, Hakim Jeffries, again urged Republicans last night to keep their promise to hold a vote on Obamacare soon.
«We believe that working-class Americans, middle-class Americans, and ordinary Americans deserve the same level of certainty that Republicans always offer to the rich, the wealthiest, and their deep-pocketed donors,» he hammered home in his speech to the Senate.
«It's not too late» to extend funding, he insisted.
The issue lies at the heart of the disagreements that caused the shutdown. If the program's tax breaks and subsidies are not extended, the cost of health insurance will more than double in 2026 for 24 million Americans who rely on Obamacare, according to calculations by KFF, a research center specializing in health insurance issues.
Since October 1, more than one million civil servants have not been paid. The payment of allowances and other benefits has faced enormous problems, while thousands of flights have been canceled or delayed in recent days due to a shortage of air traffic controllers, as many preferred to stay home rather than work without pay.
