House OKs bill to end longest shutdown of the U.S. government

President is set to sign package. Closure hit federal workers and low-income people.

- By Ana CEBALLOS

THE HOUSE also welcomed its newest member, Adelita Grijalva (D-Ariz.). Above, a Capitol officer.

The longest government shutdown in U.S. history was poised to come to an end Wednesday night as the House passed a spending package that President Trump was ready to sign into law as soon as it reached his desk.

The shutdown deal — approved by the House in a narrow 222-209 vote — now heads to Trump, who was scheduled to hold a signing ceremony at the White House at 9:45 p.m. EST.

“President Trump looks forward to finally ending this devastating Democrat shutdown with his signature, and we hope that signing will take place later tonight,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said at a news briefing earlier in the day.

The president’s signature will mark the end of a government shutdown that for 43 days left thousands of federal workers without pay, millions of low-income Americans uncertain on whether they would receive food assistance, and travelers facing delays at airports.

The vote, which began Wednesday evening, also capped a frenetic day on Capitol Hill in which lawmakers publicly released a trove of records from Jeffrey Epstein’s estate and welcomed the newest member of Congress, a Democrat from Arizona who was key in forcing a vote to demand the Justice Department release all the Epstein files.

The spending package, when signed by the president, will fund the government through Jan. 30 and reinstate federal workers who were laid off during the shutdown. It will also guarantee back pay for federal employees who were furloughed or worked without pay during the budget impasse.