President Trump signs bill to reopen government

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Last updated: Thursday, November 13, 2025 5:20PM GMT
President Trump signs government funding bill, ending longest shutdown in US history

President Donald Trump late Wednesday night signed a funding bill that will end the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.

The House passed the bill by a 222-209 margin earlier in the evening. The Senate passed the bill on Monday.

The legislation will fund the government through Jan. 30 and provide funding for some government agencies for the remainder of the fiscal year.

Miniature American flags flutter in wind gusts across the National Mall near the Capitol in Washington, Monday, Nov. 10, 2025.
Miniature American flags flutter in wind gusts across the National Mall near the Capitol in Washington, Monday, Nov. 10, 2025.

ByLauren Peller ABCNews logo
Nov 12, 2025, 11:35 PM GMT

House sends funding bill to the floor for debate

The House cleared a key procedural hurdle by a vote of 213-209 to advance the government funding package for full consideration on the House floor.

The chamber is to move on to debate the funding package shortly.

ABCNews logo
Nov 12, 2025, 11:54 AM GMT

More than 850 flights canceled in US early Wednesday, tracker says

At least 878 flights were canceled in the United States early on Wednesday, with the departures from the busy hubs of Chicago, Denver and Atlanta leading the list of the most cancellations, according to a flight-data tracker.

Another 404 flights had been delayed as of about 5 a.m. ET, according to FlightAware.

Chicago O'Hare International topped the tracker's list of cancellations, with 44 as of about 4 a.m. local time. Next was Denver with 43 and Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson with 37.

Duffy appeared at Chicago O'Hare International Airport on the same day the FAA increased its requirement of airlines to cut 6% of all domestic flights.

Wednesday's flight cancellations appeared set to continue a dayslong streak of chaos at American airports, which were operating under duress amid a federal government shutdown.

ABCNews logo
Nov 12, 2025, 11:41 AM GMT

Key House committee advances government funding package

The House Rules Committee voted 8-4 to advance the Senate-passed government funding package -- sending the legislation to the House floor for consideration.

The committee gaveled out the long hearing at 1:37 a.m. ET.

The House will next debate the measure, which could reopen the federal government, with the intention of holding votes as early as 4 p.m. ET on Wednesday.

-ABC News' Lauren Peller and Alex Ederson

Nov 12, 2025, 12:06 AM GMT

When will air traffic controllers be fully staffed?

The shortage of air traffic controllers, who were not furloughed, was so dire during the shutdown that the Federal Aviation Administration was forced to reduce flights by 10% at 40 airports -- leading to thousands of flights being canceled and delayed across the country.

As many as 15-20 resigned during the shutdown, according to the Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.

Duffy told reporters Tuesday that air traffic controllers will get 70% of their back pay within 24 to 48 hours of the reopening. He noted that more traffic controllers were showing up for work, as there were only four staffing triggers compared to 81 on Saturday.

MORE | Transportation Secretary Duffy says more pain to come before air traffic is back to normal

Duffy appeared at Chicago O'Hare International Airport on the same day the FAA increased its requirement of airlines to cut 6% of all domestic flights.

Amid the shutdown, Trump said in a social media post on Monday that he was recommending a $10,000 bonus to air traffic controllers who did not take any time off during the shutdown, though he did not provide specifics on how that would be done.

To those who took time off, he said, "I am NOT HAPPY WITH YOU," and called for them to leave the profession "with NO payment or severance of any kind," despite ongoing staffing shortages.

Once the Department of Transportation sees staffing levels return to pre-shutdown levels, it will ease the 10% flight cuts.

It is still unknown how the controllers will respond to the shutdown's waning hours.

When will flights go back to normal?

It is not immediately clear how long it will take for flights return to their normal schedules and capacity once the spending bill is signed.

When asked on Monday by ABC News White House correspondent Karen Travers if he could guarantee to Americans that travel will go back to normal once the government re-opens, Trump responded, "It'll go better than normal," and talked about upgrading technology in control towers, though he did not address the personnel issues.