On Sunday night, eight Democratic senators provided the necessary votes to advance a plan to fund government agencies through Jan., reported The New York Times. The spending package includes a three-bill “minibus” of full-year funding for the Department of Agriculture, the FDA, the Department of Veterans Affairs, military construction projects, and the operations of Congress through Jan. 30, 2026. The package was approved by the House with a final vote of 222-209 last night and was signed by President Trump this morning, ending the longest government shutdown in history, standing at 43 days. Notably, the plan does not include the Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidy extensions, which was the Democrats’ main demand and cause of the shutdown. A few days before the deal, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) offered a proposal for a short-term extension of government funding to extend ACA subsidies by one year, which was rejected by the Republicans. Additionally, the agreement negotiated a guarantee that the White House would rehire all federal employees who were fired early in the shutdown as part of the administration’s “reductions in force” across agencies. Agencies will be required to give written notice to Congress that it has both delivered the back pay and rehired laid-off employees. Future blanket firings would be limited with a broad prohibition on reductions in force in any department or agency at least until the Jan. 30 end date of the continuing resolution.
The recent government shutdown also impacted the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Notably, the Trump administration in a filing to the Supreme Court mentioned they will continue to pursue its case to withhold full federal funding for food stamps amid the government shutdown, reports The New York Times. This disruption was particularly severe for Black Americans, who make up more than a quarter of SNAP recipients despite being only 12.6 percent of the U.S. population.
The Joint Center released a statement, on Nov. 5, 2025, marking the longest government shutdown in history. Joint Center President Dedrick Asante-Muhammad said, “Nearly 19 percent of the federal workforce identifies as Black — a representation that reflects federal employment’s leading role in moving past historic discrimination in hiring of African Americans and creating a key pathway to economic stability and middle-class opportunity.”
The shutdown exacerbated existing economic inequalities, as Black households already face a median income gap of approximately $36,000 compared to white households. The economic vulnerability of Black families is further compounded by higher unemployment rates and lower homeownership compared to their white counterparts.
