What’s in the deal to end the longest US government shutdown? Highlights include funding, lawsuits and hemp ban

Nevin Al Sukari - Sana'a - US President Donald Trump poses for a photo after he signs the funding bill to end the US government shutdown, at the White House in Washington, D.C. November 12, 2025. — Reuters pic

WASHINGTON, Nov 13 — The US Congress is poised to approve a deal that would end the longest government shutdown in US history, which began when lawmakers allowed funding to expire on October 1.

Here is a summary of the package:

Temporarily restores government funding 

The bill would restore funding for government agencies at existing levels through January 30. This would buy time for lawmakers to finish work on detailed spending legislation to fund agencies for the current fiscal year, which lasts through September 30, 2026.

Provides full-year funding for some agencies

The package also includes full-year funding for the Department of Agriculture, the Food and Drug Administration, the Department of Veterans Affairs, military construction projects and Congress itself.

Congress still must write, debate and pass full-year spending bills that cover other government agencies.

Blocks federal job cuts

The bill would hinder President Donald Trump’s campaign to downsize the US government by barring his administration from carrying out mass firings of federal workers until January 30. Roughly 300,000 of the 2.2 million people who work for the federal government have been laid off or pressured to leave their jobs this year.

It also explicitly says that the thousands of employees Trump tried to lay off after the shutdown began would keep their jobs.

Allows senators to sue for alleged privacy violations

The bill allows eight Republican senators whose phone records were examined by the Justice Department to sue for US$500,000 (RM2.06 million) for alleged privacy violations.

The Justice Department could opt to settle the lawsuits rather than contest them in court, potentially allowing Trump’s administration to hand out millions of dollars to political allies. Democrats say that would amount to corruption.

Their phone records were seized as part of the Biden administration’s investigation into the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot.

Hemp products

The bill would crack down on an array of marijuana-like intoxicants that are sold in convenience stores nationwide, even in states where recreational marijuana use is not legal.

It aims to close a loophole in existing law that has allowed some intoxicants to be sold as “hemp,” a product that is legal under federal law. The bill would ban hemp products that contain more than a certain level of psychoactive compounds like THC or synthetic cannabinoids, while making clear that “industrial hemp” sold for fiber would still be legal and eligible for federal funding.

Volunteers pack snack bags and meals for afterschool programs in the Central Texas Food Bank warehouse kitchen, as nearly 42 million Americans face a potential lapse in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programme (SNAP) benefits, known as food stamps, due to the second-longest US government shutdown, in Austin, Texas October 30, 2025. — Reuters pic

Food assistance

The bill ensures that the SNAP food aid programme, which helps 40 million Americans buy groceries, will continue without disruption if Congress shuts down the government again before September 30, 2026, the end of the fiscal year. The programme has been thrown into turmoil by the current shutdown.

It also provides an 8 per cent funding increase for WIC, a more targeted food programme that serves about 6 million women and children per month.

Does not bolster existing spending authority

Other than the language on job cuts, the bill includes no new guardrails that would prevent Trump from unilaterally cutting or withholding funds approved by Congress.

The sun sets over an air traffic control tower at O'Hare International Airport in Illinois, Chicago November 12, 2025. — Reuters pic

Pays workers

The bill provides back pay for those federal workers Trump tried to fire, as well as some state workers who were furloughed when their pay was disrupted by the shutdown.

It does not specifically address other federal workers, who are guaranteed back pay when the government reopens under a 2019 law.

Prevents military spending increases

The deal prevents the Pentagon from starting new weapons production or other programmes that were not explicitly funded last year.

Provides targeted spending increases

The bill boosts security spending for Congress, the Supreme Court and the US court system by US$88 million, responding to an increase in political violence. It also boosts spending for the Indian Health Service by US$80 million.

Reimburses states

The bill reimburses states that used their own funding to cover lapsed federal funding during the shutdown, and requires that they be reimbursed if Congress allows another shutdown later in the fiscal year. — Reuters