Speaking from the Oval Office during the signing ceremony on Wednesday (local time), Trump accused the Democrats of causing the prolonged impasse terming it an attempt to “extort US taxpayers”
US President Donald Trump shows the signed bill package to re-open the federal government in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington DC, on Wednesday. PIC/AFP
US President Donald Trump signed into law the funding package to reopen the federal government, officially ending the longest shutdown in American history, which lasted for a record 43 days. Speaking from the Oval Office during the signing ceremony on Wednesday (local time), Trump accused the Democrats of causing the prolonged impasse terming it an attempt to “extort US taxpayers”.
“For the past 43 days, Democrats in Congress shut down the government of the US in an attempt to extort American taxpayers for hundreds of billions of dollars for illegal aliens. Today, we’re sending a clear message that we will never give in to extortion,” Trump said.
This came moments after the US House of Representatives approved the funding package, following weeks of bitter political deadlock over an Obamacare-related programme opposed by Republicans. The bill was earlier passed by the US Senate this week. The House of Representatives later passed the funding bill by a vote of 222 to 209 on Wednesday, with nearly all Republicans and a handful of Democrats voting in favour.
During the signing ceremony, the President stated that the shutdown had “inflicted massive harm” on public services and the lives of millions of Americans. He noted that over 20,000 flights were “cancelled or delayed”, with one million government workers missing their pay cheques and food stamp benefits cut off for “millions of Americans in need”.
‘Train Americans, then go back home’
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent clarified that while the Trump administration remains committed to prioritising American jobs, it recognises the immediate need for specialised overseas expertise in sectors like defence, shipbuilding, and semiconductors. “The President’s vision here is to bring in overseas workers, who have the skills, for three, five, or seven years to train the US workers; then they can go home, and the US workers fully take over,” he said during a news interview on Wednesday.
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