How Texas Representatives Voted to Reopen the Government

The longest government shutdown in U.S. history has ended after the House approved the funding bill that was passed by the Senate. President Trump signed the bill only hours after it was approved.

The bill that ended the shutdown will allocate money to several government agencies through January 30th of the upcoming year. According to the bill, appropriations will be provided throughout the end of the next fiscal year for agriculture, military construction and veteran affairs, and legislative programs.

The bill also states that federal workers who were not paid during the shutdown will receive backpay, federal agencies cannot take any action relating to a reduction in force (RIF), or layoffs, through Jan. 30th, 2026 and nullifies any previous RIFs since the beginning of the shutdown. 

After it passed with a 60-40 vote in the Senate, the bill moved to the House, where it received a 222 to 209 vote. 37 out of 38 Texas representatives voted with a total of 26 representatives in favor of the bill’s passage. 

Texas representatives were almost split directly down party lines, with one dissenting Democrat and one Republican who did not vote. From the beginning of the shutdown, accusations of who is to blame have been thrown across party lines.

Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett (D), who voted no on reopening the government, spoke on the bill in an X post, writing that “it reopens the government—but it does nothing to address the healthcare crisis that Republicans created.”

Republicans are offering an opposing argument. Referencing the Democratic Party, Senator Ted Cruz (R) said in the most recent episode of Verdict With Ted Cruz that “they (the Democratic Party) want to inflict maximum pain. They want the shutdown to be painful for the American people.” 

With the bill signed into law, federal agencies will begin to receive funding, and federal workers will go back to being paid for their work. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is to be reinstated, but many have yet to receive those funds. 

Although many agencies are supposed to be back running soon, the effects of the shutdown are yet to be fully felt by the American people.