The longest government shutdown in US history officially ended after President Trump signed a bill passed by Congress on Wednesday night.
The federal government is reopening. But after 43 days on pause, things may not return to normal rhythm immediately. For example, federal employees are still awaiting retroactive pay and air traffic disruptions are expected to persist.
And some impacts may last much longer than six weeks, whether national parks trying to compensate for lost visitor revenue or taxpayers waiting longer for refunds from a backed-up Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
There is also the imminent threat of another potential shutdown in the not-too-distant future, since this bill funds the government only until January 30.
Here’s a look at where things stand now. Keep scrolling for updates and jump by category here:
Federal employees return to work, awaiting retroactive pay
Approximately 1.4 million federal employees went without pay for six weeks. Approximately half of them were required to continue working without paychecks, while hundreds of thousands of others were temporarily furloughed.
Russ Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget, told agency heads to direct temporarily furloughed employees to return to work on Thursday.
“Agencies must take all necessary measures to ensure that offices reopen in a swift and orderly manner” on Thursday, Vought wrote in a Wednesday memo.
The timing of retroactive pay is a different matter.
After the government shutdown that ended in January 2019 — then the longest in history — Congress passed a law guaranteeing retroactive pay for federal employees “at the earliest date possible after the end of the appropriations lapse, regardless of scheduled pay dates.”
But Trump seemed to suggest otherwise in public comments last month, leaving many feds worried.
The bill that Congress passed to end the shutdown guarantees back pay. It also reverses several agencies’ attempted staffing reductions during the shutdown, which were paused by a federal judge, and prevents additional layoffs of federal employees through January.
Shaun Southworth, a federal employment lawyer, said in an Instagram video that the timing of retroactive pay will vary by agency based on their payroll providers, but most employees should start seeing deposits in a few days.
“Many employees historically saw deposits in the first business days after reopening,” he says about the last shutdown. “A minority may be shifted to the next cycle if the system needs extra processing.”
SNAP is back
The bill passed by Congress to reopen the government funds the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) until September 2026.
The program, on which about 42 million Americans rely for food assistance, has been the subject of much uncertainty — and a growing legal battle — in recent weeks. The Trump administration said last month it would suspend SNAP funding in November due to the shutdown, sparking widespread outrage and a series of legal challenges.
Although the administration initially said it would comply with two court rulings requiring it to provide at least partial SNAP funding in November, it backtracked — and ultimately appealed to the Supreme Court — after one of those judges said it must fully fund the program for the month. The Supreme Court paused that order (and extended that pause again on Tuesday, with the shutdown’s end in sight).
At that point, beneficiaries in some states received their full monthly allotments, while others received partial payments or nothing. Reopening the government means restarting SNAP, but it’s unclear how quickly full payments will resume, as that varies by state. And, as NPR reported, many who rely on the program are worried that benefits could be cut again.
Smithsonian institutions will reopen gradually
The Smithsonian, which encompasses 21 museums and the National Zoo, says its reopening will be gradual.
Its website says that the National Museum of American History, as well as the National Air and Space Museum and its annex in Virginia, the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, will open their doors on Friday.
All other museums and the zoo — including its beloved live animal cams — will reopen to the public “on a rolling basis” by Monday.
Source: npr.org by Rachel Treisman