Shutdown Ends
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Shutdown Ends
Federal Workers, Food Assistance back on track
By Shane Gilreath
[email protected]
President Donald Trump officially ended the longest federal government shutdown in American history late last Wednesday, formally signing a funding bill after Congress passed legislation to reopen the government. The 43-day closure was heavily criticized by both political parties and served to disrupt federal operations, including aspect of the national park service, delayed pay for many federal employees, cut flights, and temporarily suspended assistance programs, like SNAP, which significantly impacted Scott County and left food banks struggling to meet demands.
Tennessee lawmakers were among those commenting, including Congressman Chuck Fleischmann who commented on Day 42 as the ordeal reached its crescendo.
Photos by Jodi Bond
As government negotiations threaten to extend the historic federal shutdown, massive lines have been reported by food charities in Scott and surrounding areas. On Wednesday, long lines backed up lanes of traffic down Alberta Street as Second Harvest visited Bethlehem Baptist Church in Oneida with their mobile food bank.
“For 42 days, Americans who rely on SNAP benefits have been in turmoil. For 42 days, federal workers like air traffic controllers, TSA agents, Border Patrol, and patriots in Oak Ridge who keep our nuclear deterrent secure have not been paid,” Congressman Chuck Fleischmann said in a statement. “For 42 days, Democrats have chosen to grind the basic functions of government to a halt, regardless of the consequences. For 42 days, the American People have paid the price for Democrats’ political games. We cannot ever let a shutdown of this magnitude and length ever happen again.”
Fleischmann’s words reflect that while citizens struggled to find solutions, legislators in Washington failed time and again to find compromises on healthcare and budget priorities, with political theater and partisan standoffs seemingly prolonging the shutdown.
“Tonight was one of the easiest votes I have taken in Congress,” Fleischmann said. “I will never vote to shut down our government and cause Americans needless pain.”
Once passed, Trump praised the bipartisan effort to reopen, while continuing to blame the political left and progressive policies. “Today, we’re sending a clear message that we will never give in to extortion,” the president said, referring to what he called political maneuvering that ultimately forced the shutdown that began October 1, 2025.
In the House of Representatives, 6 Democrats broke with their party, crossing the aisle to vote for the bill, joining Republicans to pass it 222–209. Senate approval came earlier with 60 votes, including 8 Democrats. Kentucky’s Republican Senator, Dr. Rand Paul, who has long and publicly opposed the funding bill, inciting criticism from his party faithful, continued to vote against it.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a Democrat from New York, criticized the shutdown’s impact. “This shutdown put hardworking Americans in an impossible position,” Jeffries said, “from federal employees to families relying on essential programs.”
It was a sentiment that united both parties, although each placed blame on the opposing party.
Congressman John Rose, a candidate for Governor, who missed an appearance at Mtn People’s Imaging Center’s Grand Opening as a result of the historic vote, had spent time in the previous days visiting the hardest hit citizens.
“This has gone on for far too long. Senate Democrats have put food assistance for millions at risk. They’ve put our skies at risk. They’ve withheld paychecks for hundreds of thousands of Americans, including the brave men and women of our armed forces,” Rose said. “Every county I represent is being affected by this politically motivated obstruction.”
Now that the government has reopened, federal operations are expected to resume, federal workers will receive back pay, and critical services such as veterans’ programs and food assistance will be restored. SNAP funding, which SCN has covered extensively since benefits failed to be issued in November, will now be funded through September 2026.
“Tennesseans can breathe a sigh of relief knowing they will once again receive essential services, our brave service members will be paid, and families will get the paychecks they rely on,”said Senator Marsha Blackburn.
