US government opens back up but deep political divisions remain
Roughly 1.4 million federal workers, who had toiled without pay through the shutdown, will begin to receive back pay tomorrwo with all payments due to be completed by Wednesday
The US government is due to lumber back to life yesterday (13 November) after the longest shutdown in US history snarled air traffic, cut food assistance to low-income Americans and forced more than 1 million workers to go unpaid for more than a month.
But the deep political divisions that caused the 43-day shutdown in the first place remain unresolved.
The funding package contains few guardrails to restrain Republican President Donald Trump from withholding spending, in an administration that has regularly challenged Congress' constitutional authority over money. And it does not address the soon-to-expire health subsidies that led Senate Democrats to begin the shutdown in the first place.
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The shutdown also exposed divides within the Democratic Party between its liberal base, which has demanded its leaders do whatever necessary to rein in Trump, and moderates who feel their options are limited so long as Republicans hold majorities in both chambers of Congress. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer is facing calls to step down, even though he voted against the deal.
Roughly 1.4 million federal workers, who had toiled without pay through the shutdown, will begin to receive back pay tomorrwo with all payments due to be completed by Wednesday, the White House said. Trump's White House had threatened to withhold pay for some of those workers, though there was no indication that it would do so.
"I'm happy to see all my coworkers again. I brought in some pastries for everybody so we can enjoy our first day back," said federal employee Stanley Stocker as he arrived at the Department of the Interior.
Trump fired several thousand workers during the shutdown, but the funding deal that reopened the government ensures they will keep their jobs. Trump's administration ordered agencies to revoke their dismissals within five days.
The deal pauses Trump's broader downsizing campaign until the end of January. Trump is on track to reduce the 2.2 million-strong civil service by 300,000 workers by the end of the year.
The nation's air travel system has begun returning to normal, after thousands of flight cancellations brought on by high absentee rates among the nation's air traffic controllers. The Department of Homeland Security said it would issue $10,000 bonus checks to airport security screeners who took extra shifts during the shutdown.
The Agriculture Department said most states would receive funding for the SNAP food aid program within 24 hours, ending a dispute that threatened to cut off subsidies that help 42 million Americans buy groceries.
The Smithsonian Institution said some of its high-profile museums along Washington's National Mall would reopen on Friday, while the National Zoo and other buildings would be open to the public by Monday.
Americans blame republicans and democrats almost equally
The return to normality could be short-lived, as the deal only funds the government until 30 January, raising the prospect of another shutdown early next year.
Neither party appears to have emerged as a clear winner. A Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Wednesday found that 50% of Americans blamed Republicans for the shutdown while 47% blamed Democrats.
This shutdown also stood out for what was largely absent: debate over the $38 trillion national debt, which Congress for now leaves on a path to keep growing by about $1.8 trillion per year.
Democrats secured no guarantees on health subsidies, only a promise that the Republican-controlled Senate will hold a vote on the matter.
But they argued that they elevated the issue at a time when polls show Americans are concerned about the rising cost of living. The subsidies benefit 24 million Americans, disproportionately residents of Republican-controlled states.
"The healthcare of the American people is a fight worth having, and I'm proud that Democrats held together for this long to fight this battle," Representative Hank Johnson of Georgia told Reuters. "The American people are more aware of the high stakes."
Republicans, meanwhile, argued that the shutdown had been a pointless exercise that caused needless damage - an argument Democrats have made in 2013 and 2019, when Republicans forced shutdowns over health and immigration issues.
"This is just absolutely insane, insane that we're now using government shutdowns as leverage for policy. That can never happen," Republican Representative Brian Fitzpatrick told Reuters.
Economic damage
The shutdown has prevented the government from releasing an array of economic data, forcing investors and the Federal Reserve to operate in the dark as they tried to assess the state of the world's largest economy. White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said data on the unemployment rate for October may never be available.
The shutdown also spooked consumers ahead of the year-end holiday shopping season. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated it would delay roughly $50 billion in spending and lower US GDP by 1.5 percentage points. The CBO said the economy will largely bounce back when the shutdown ends, though up to $14 billion in lost activity will not be recovered.
The US Small Business Administration said the shutdown had delayed $5.3 billion worth of loans to 10,000 small businesses.
