President Donald Trump late Wednesday signed into law a measure to end the longest-ever government shutdown after 43 days. The bill passed the House on Wednesday after clearing the Senate on Monday. “NCC was on record as early as September 24th, urging Congress to pass a clean CR to keep the government open, and we’re pleased that the shutdown is over,” said NCC spokesperson Tom Super. “We thank President Trump for signing the funding bill into law to provide businesses with much needed certainty moving forward.”
A group of three former Democratic governors — New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, New Hampshire Sen. Maggie Hassan, and Independent Sen. Angus King of Maine — broke the six-week stalemate on Sunday when they agreed to vote to advance three bipartisan annual spending bills and extend the rest of government funding until late January in exchange for a mid-December vote on extending Obamacare tax credits. Sen. Shaheen is retiring in 2026.
In addition to Shaheen, King, and Hassan, Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, home to tens of thousands of federal workers, also voted in favor of moving forward on the agreement. Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, the No. 2 Democrat, Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman, and Nevada Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen also voted yes. Sen. Durbin is also retiring in 2026.
None of the eight Democratic senators who voted in favor of the package are up for reelection in 2026.
The vote in the House was 220 to 209, with six Democrats joining almost all Republicans in voting for the measure. Two Republicans – Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL) and Thomas Massie (R-KY) – voted against the measure.
The agreement includes a Continuing Resolution (CR) to fund the government through January 30, 2026, including language to provide backpay for federal employees furloughed during the shutdown. The package also includes full FY2026 funding (Agency funding through September 30, 2026) for three bills – Agriculture, Military Construction/Veterans Affairs, and Legislative Branch.
The Agriculture Appropriations bill included full funding of $1.2 billion for the Food Safety and Inspection Service, full funding of $200 million for the Market Access Program (MAP) and $34.5 million for the Foreign Market Development Program (FMD), which is in addition to the $285 million in permanent, mandatory funding from the One Big Beautiful Bill for export promotion.
