U.S. GOVERNMENT OPEN FOR BUSINESS – Democrats and Republicans to battle over shutdown win narrative
President Donald Trump signed legislation late on Wednesday, November 12th ending a 43-day shutdown of the U.S. government, but a political analyst warned that Democrats and Republicans now face a battle over who can claim victory from the prolonged budget standoff.
The Republican-controlled chamber passed the package by a vote of 222-209, with Trump’s support largely keeping his party together in the face of vehement opposition from House Democrats, who are angry that a long standoff launched by their Senate colleagues failed to secure a deal to extend federal health insurance subsidies.
“While the Democrats didn’t get the thing that they were putting at the top of their wish list for the shutdown, they did get other things,” said Jack Miller, a political science professor at Portland State University.
“This is where there’s the difference between accomplishment and narrative,” he added.
Trump’s signature on the bill, which cleared the Senate earlier in the week, will bring federal workers idled by the shutdown back to their jobs starting as early as Thursday November 13th, although just how quickly full government services and operations will resume is unclear.
The deal extends funding through January 30, leaving the federal government on a path to keep adding about $1.8 trillion a year to its $38 trillion in debt.
