The longest federal government shutdown in U.S. history came to an end Wednesday evening after 43 days, when President Donald Trump signed a bill into law that would extend federal funding at current levels until  Jan. 30. 

The end comes after 43 days of disagreement between Republicans and Democrats in the Senate on federal health care spending. Democrats refused to support a continuing resolution that did not include the extension of the Affordable Care Act tax credits that expired on Nov. 1. 

Those who receive marketplace insurance are expected to see their premiums, deductibles, and out-of-pocket maximums skyrocket this year as more people than ever buy into marketplace insurance plans. 

The costs are expected to triple in some cases, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, which does analysis on health policy, and advocates worry the plans will become unaffordable without enhanced tax credits.

Republicans, who are in the majority in both the House and Senate but do not hold enough votes in the Senate to pass a bill unilaterally, have refused to support the extension of those tax credits in a continuing resolution, and instead wanted to negotiate the credits during budget negotiations. 

The bill passed Wednesday includes the extension of all federal appropriations through Jan. 30, backpay for federal employees, and the full-year budget for agricultural, legislative branch, military construction, and veterans affairs programs. 

During the shutdown, federal workers went without pay or were furloughed, federal food assistance funding ran out, and federal funding stopped flowing to state and local governments. 

All four of Iowa’s congressional representatives voted for the bill, and Iowa’s two U.S. Sens., Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst, voted for the bill in the Senate on Monday. 

U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks

Miller-Meeks said, in a statement, that she voted to end the shutdown because of its effects on Iowans. 

“I  voted to keep the government open because I know the truth: in a shutdown, nobody wins and the American people lose,” Miller-Meeks said in a statement Wednesday evening. “For 43 days, Chuck Schumer and Senate Democrats held our nation hostage, blocking pay for our troops, air traffic controllers, corrections officers, federal employees, and families who rely on SNAP to feed their children, all to push a $1.5 trillion wish list and taxpayer-funded healthcare for illegal immigrants.” 

Democrats asked for a reversal of changes made to Medicaid in the “One Big, Beautiful Bill Act” that resulted in $1 trillion reduction in federal health care spending and the extension of ACA tax credits. 

Experts say the repeal of the law would not result in those lacking legal residency status gaining Medicaid coverage and instead would only allow states to reimburse hospitals for emergency care provided to those lacking legal residency status who are low-income, according to an analysis by Georgetown University professors. 

Federal law requires states to reimburse hospitals for this care regardless of immigration status, but the law only reduces the federal share in paying for these services. 

The same analysis found that those lacking legal residency status would not qualify for marketplace plans, nor for tax subsidies. 

U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn

Nunn said it “was never a red or blue issue. This was about working together to open the government for the American people.” 

“While I’m glad we finally ended the gridlock, my Democratic colleagues need to understand what their political gamesmanship cost Iowa,” Nunn said in a statement on Wednesday. “I spent this completely avoidable shutdown hearing directly from Iowans who were missing paychecks, losing access to services, and worrying about how to feed their families.” 

Nunn said the deal today was the same as more than a month ago.

“We should have reached it before this shutdown ever began,” Nunn said.

U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson  

Hinson said, in a statement, the shutdown created uncertainty and used vulnerable families as “leverage.” 

“Iowans are fed up with D.C. dysfunction, and I fully support this commonsense bill to open the government following Chuck Schumer’s senseless shutdown antics,” Hinson said. “Now, we need to advance bipartisan solutions to ensure working families have affordable and accessible health care and lower costs across the board. Good things happen when we work together, and I’ll continue reaching across the aisle to make life easier and more affordable for lowans.”

U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra 

Feenstra said, in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday, it was shameful to shut down the federal government to spend $1.5 trillion “we don’t have.” 

“I voted to end the Democrat shutdown and reopen the government to pay our troops, feed needy families & fully staff our FSA  [Farm Services Agency] offices,” Feenstra said in the post.