Impact of shutdown likely to linger

Government employees beign returning to work

By; Joey Garrison
Zachary Schermele
and Zac Anderson
USA Today

WASHINGTON - The federal government is back open after a record-breaking 43-day shutdown - but the effects from the nation's longest-ever shutdown could linger.
..... Late on November 12, [2025] President Donald Trump signed the bill to fund the government through January 20, 2026, shortly after the legislation cleared the house of Representatives by a 222-209 vote.
..... Shattered preschool and food benefits programs will reopen. So will federal agencies and national parks and other landmarks, Furloughed federal workers will return to work. Government data crucial to understanding the American economy will start circulating again.
..... Trump blasted Democrats as he signed the bill at 10:25 PM. ET, accusing "extremists in the other party" of creating the shutdown for political reasons.
..... "Don't forget, when we come up to midterms and other things, don't forget what they did to our country,' Trump said from the Oval office.
..... As hes signed the legislation, Trump was flanked by House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana; other House Republicans; and representatives from the aviation industry and other businesses.
..... "The country has never been in better shape," Trump said. "We went through this short-term disaster with he Democrats because they thought it would be good politically. It's an honor now to sign this incredible bill and get our country working again.
..... Yet even with the president's signature, delayed and canceled flights aren't expected to ease immediately, federal workers still need their back-pay and millions of Americans are waiting for food stamps that were halted during the shutdown.

Furloughed Workers told to return

..... The Office of Management and Budget quickly put out guidance following the end of the shutdown that directs federal agencies to open, and furloughed workers were set to return beginning November 13. [2025]
..... OMB Director Russell Vought sent out the letter to department and agency heads on November 12 [2025] saying "employees who were on furlough due to the absence of appropriations should be directed to return to work on November 12." [2025]
..... An estimated 750,000 workers were furloughed during the shutdown.

When will SNAP benefits return?

..... The U.S. Department of Agriculture said payments to most states under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program should continue within 24 hours of the government's reopening.
..... Trump has halted full SNAP payments amid the shutdown, setting off a legal fight with Democratic-led states that reached the Supreme Court.
..... At least 16 states already released full benefits amounts on the weekend of November 8, [2025] according to research by the Food Search and Action Center. another 12 issued or began issuing partial or mixed payments.
..... Jessica Garon, a spokesperson for the American Public Human Service Association, told The Associated Press that most states will be able to issue full benefits within three days after they're given the green light.

HUD to resume housing programs

..... Scott Turner, the secretary of Housing and Urban Development, said the department would immediately resume services for the elderly, for housing and access to health care.
..... The Federal Housing Administration will resume review of reverse mortgage loans for the elderly that were suspended during the shutdown. The backlog in reviewing the applications grew to 60 translations per day during the funding lapse.
..... The department's program to repair 10,000 homes with lead hazards was stalled during the shutdown and will resume. Public housing authorities risked the loss of aid for 4 million families that depended on those residences if the shutdown had continued.
..... The department is considering health-care projects totaling $2 billion to cerate 12,800 more beds in care facilities across 30 states, after mortgages were frozen during the funding lapse.
..... "This needless shutdown caused real harm - disrupting lives and livelihoods," Turner said in a statement. "without delay, HUB will immediately restore stability and resume full operational capacity to support the communities we serve."

Johnson won't commit to ACA vote

..... The vote to fund the government through January 30 [2026] came after the Senate on November 10 [2025] approved a deal that was brokered by eight Senate Democrats who relented form policy demands over health care and joined Republicans OT end the shutdown.
..... Trump thanked the eight Senate Democrats, saying they "finally did the right thing in voting to end this craziness."
..... For weeks, Senate Democrats had demanded the extension of expiring subsides in the Affordable Care Act as part of a shutdown deal. Instead, the bill only guarantees a Senate vote in December [2025] on the health care subsidies.
..... However, Johnson would not commit to bringing that vote to the floor. The GOP leader said at a post-vote news conference that he'd be willing to work with anyone in Congress who wants to lower the cost of health care. But he said the Affordable Care Act does not do that.

White House: Shutdown slowed economy

..... Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, told reporters at the White House the shutdown cost about $15 billion per week and slowed the national economy about 1% to 1.5%, which cost about 60,000 non-federal workers their jobs.
..... Given concerns about the economy, Hassett said the administration reduced inflation but that "there's still work to do."
..... "The first thing that we've done is stopped the runaway inflation," Hassett said. "the second thing we've done is we've pushed polices that have caused incomes to grow a lot. But we understand that people understand,a s people look at their pocketbooks to go to the grocery store, that there's still work to do."

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