By: Snigdha Chakravarti
On November 13th, 2025, the US government finally reopened after a 43-day closure, the longest in US History after a 35-day shutdown in 2019. With over 670,000 government workers furloughed and another 730,000 required to work without pay, the end of the shutdown seems to have some economic promise. Although there are some benefits that have arisen following the reopening of the government, many institutions and industries are set to take much longer to fully recover.
One such example is the airline industry, in which nearly 10% of air traffic was reduced by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in 40 of the country’s biggest airports. Additionally, President Trump mentioned in a statement that 20,000 flights were delayed or cancelled due to the shutdown. It may take weeks, or even months, for the airline industry to be ‘normal’ again; the FAA even explained how it will have to continue to assess “whether the system can gradually return to normal operations.” This includes, most notably, airline schedules, which have been changed due to the government shutdown; to revert back to normal schedules will take a while. On the other hand, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy remarked how air traffic controllers would get 70% of their backpay within 48 hours of the shutdown ending, displaying a small improvement in the airline industry after the shutdown.
Federal workers awaiting backpay along with air travel disruptions won’t disappear immediately, but other impacts may take over six weeks to resolve. Specifically, refunds from the IRS and national parks attempting to make up for lost visitor revenue will take a longer time to fix. The IRS furloughed nearly half of its 74,000 workers and attempted to lay off 1,400 workers (this act was reversed by the new bill passed that reopened the government). Furthermore, the operations of the agency were somewhat restricted: not paying tax refunds, decreasing customer support via telephone, and cancelling appointments for cases with the Independent Office of Appeals and the Taxpayer Advocate Service. Many accountants from the IRS wrote how despite the shutdown ending, there is still a “burden” that could potentially “delay the 2026 tax filing season due to increased stresses to our entire tax system.” Similarly, the National Parks Conservation Administration (NPCA) commented how it could take months to fix the damage in parks. According to Kristen Brengel, the senior vice president of government affairs at the NPCA, many national parks “were left open, vulnerable, and unprotected” during the 43-day shutdown. Brengel also mentioned how the National Park Service had lost 25% of permanent staff and was, therefore, “left to pick up the pieces.” National parks were partially in service, reducing staffing; limiting services like visitor centers; decreasing maintenance and research; and scaling back on trash pickup. Visitor services and construction projects could be delayed due to the loss of millions of dollars from parks being unable to collect entrance and recreational fees. Because of this and the fact that many nonprofits diverted resources away from national parks that depended on them to stay operational, Brengel is “unsure if they will ever fully recover those funds.” Essentially, the national park sector could be permanently damaged due to the shutdown. What’s more is the possibility of the government shutting down again (as the bill passed only keeps the government open till January 30th, 2026), creating a “short-term reprieve” that could hurt the hiring of spring and summer park rangers. Other federally funded programs that will take longer to come back include Head Start (an early childhood program) and Liheap (heating for low income families), so despite the opening of the government, the effects of the shutdown will continue to be there for some time.
However, there are a few positives that have occurred after the bill was passed that reopened the government. SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits (food stamps) will be available from September 2026 to the 42 million Americans who depend on it. The bill also guarantees back pay, reverses agencies’ staffing reductions, and prevents additional layoffs through January. The Smithsonian’s 21 museums and National Zoo will gradually reopen after being closed from the shutdown. Additionally, the bill will bring employees back to work and provide federal funding for several agencies.
From this, President Trump has stated how “the country has never been in better shape”, and how “the country should have never been closed” in the first place. Congratulating congressional Republicans on this “big victory,” Trump also blamed the Democrats for causing the shutdown, claiming that Democrats “were happy for millions of Americans to suffer.” The context of this statement arises from the Democrats’ attempt to get the Republicans to accede to their demands of extending federal health care subsidies set to expire at the end of this year. As a result, the Democrats refused to side with the Republicans, who had been trying to reopen the government for the past few weeks. It was only after eight Democrats sided with the Republicans that the bill to reopen the government was passed. These Democrats believed it was impossible for the healthcare subsidies extension to be approved, especially in a time of crisis. One of the Democrats was Senator Thomas Kaine of Virginia, who saw “no path forward on health care” after Republicans abstained from talking about health care with the government shutdown. Kaine also remarked that “SNAP beneficiaries and those relying on other important services were losing benefits because of the shutdown.” Nevertheless, other Democrats including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer opposed the deal made by the eight Democrats because it “failed to do anything of substance to fix America’s healthcare crisis.” The Democrats, however, have secured a vote in December regarding health care tax credits, so the fight for health care subsidies will still continue as of now.
The reopening of the government was a mixture of hope, confusion, and anger economically, socially, and politically for Americans. The consequences of the shutdown, along with the possibility of another in January, will continue to be seen in the near future.