Three takeaways from the US shutdown deal

With a bipartisan Senate vote approving funding for the federal government, the longest shutdown in U.S. history appears to be nearing its end.

Furloughed federal employees will return to work. They, and those deemed too “essential” to be sent home, will once again begin receiving paychecks, including back wages.

Air travel in the USA will return to some tolerable normal. Food aid to low-income Americans will continue. National parks will reopen

The sufferings, big and small, that the shutdown has triggered for so many Americans will end.

But the political consequences of this record departure will continue even when the government returns to office.

Here are three key takeaways now that an exit ramp has emerged.

Finally, Democrats blinked. Or at least there are enough centrist, soon-to-retire, and at-risk politicians in the Senate to give Republicans the support needed to reopen the government.

Pain for those who voted with Republicans closing It had become very violent. But for others in the party, the cost of backing down proved unbearable.

“I cannot support a deal that leaves millions of Americans still wondering how they will pay for health care or whether they can afford to get sick,” Virginia Senator Mark Warner said in a statement. he said.

The end of this closure is certain to reopen old wounds between the party’s activist and left-wing base and its institutionalist, centrist structure. Divisions within the party, which celebrated election victories in Virginia and New Jersey last week, are certain to sharpen.

Democrats are angry over Republican-backed cuts to government programs and reductions in the federal workforce. They accused Donald Trump of pushing and breaking the limits of presidential power. They warned that the nation was heading towards authoritarianism.

For many on the left, the shutdown was a chance for Democrats to draw a line in the sand. And now that it looks like the government will reopen without any fundamental changes or new restrictions for Trump, many on the left will think this is a wasted opportunity. And they will be very angry.

During the 40-day shutdown, Trump took two international trips: to the Middle East and East Asia. He played golf. He made many visits to his personal properties, including hosting a lavish “Great Gatsby”-style fundraising party at his Mar-a-Lago mansion.

What he didn’t do was force his party to compromise with the Democrats. And in the end, this tough stance paid off.

The White House has agreed to roll back the “grim reaper” workforce cuts it ordered during the shutdown.

Senate Republicans have promised to vote on government health insurance subsidies. But the vote is no guarantee, and there is little Trump and his team have given up on day 40 that they cannot accept on day one. Senate Democrats, who eventually broke away from their party to reopen the government, said they had little hope of progress with Republicans.

“It wasn’t working,” Angus King, an independent who sided with the Democrats, said of the party’s shutdown strategy. Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat from New Hampshire, said Sunday night’s agreement was “the only deal on the table.”

“Waiting any longer will only prolong the pain Americans are feeling from the shutdown,” he added. It’s impossible to tell what’s going through Trump and his Republican leadership team’s mind. Trump even seemed indecisive at times; He touted the possibility of replacing health insurance subsidies with direct payments to Americans or eliminating the parliamentary filibuster that gives Democrats power in the Senate.

But Republicans ultimately stuck together and did a good job convincing enough Democrats they wouldn’t back down.

This registration closure It may be coming to an end, but the political dynamics that led to this separation are still present.

The compromise bill funds most government operations only through the end of January; That’s enough time for the country to get through the holiday season and a few weeks beyond. After that, Congress could return to where it was when government funds ran out at the end of September.

Democrats may have backed down this time, but they didn’t face any real political consequences for blocking the Republican funding bill for more than a month. In fact, Trump’s poll numbers fell during the shutdown, and Democrats had an impressive showing in last week’s off-year state elections.

With some on the left screaming that their parties are not getting enough out of this shutdown, and with only a handful of party lines on file in Congress supporting this compromise, there may be plenty of motivation for fear of further shutdowns as next year’s midterm elections approach. With food aid for low-income earners guaranteed through October, a particularly sensitive point for Democrats is off the table.

It’s been almost five years since the last government shutdown of Trump’s first term as president. The next one is likely to come much sooner than that.