The longest government shutdown in United States history, which began on Oct. 1, 2025, and lasted 43 days, has finally come to an end. 

For many people across the country, including students at Sacramento City College, this comes as a major relief. On Nov. 12, the U.S. Senate voted to approve a funding bill that would reopen the federal government, sending it to the House of Representatives for their vote for final approval. Soon after the funding bill was approved, the White House said that President Donald Trump would sign the bill the moment it hit his desk, which he did that night.

Now, the shutdown is over, putting an end to the standoff between the Republicans and Democrats that left millions of Americans frustrated, confused and concerned about what the future would hold if the shutdown had continued any longer. Now that the government has officially reopened, and most federal operations will proceed as normal, it is important to look at what is inside the bill, what this means for the future of the country and how all of this affects college students in Sacramento, especially those of us who rely on federal resources for school, financial aid and daily life. 

The bill’s main purpose is to be a temporary solution, with the goal of funding the government until Jan. 30, 2026, while Congress continues to argue over long-term spending plans. According to PBS, it restores funding for most federal programs, including the TSA and airport staff, military pay, federal nutrition programs like SNAP and much more. The end of the shutdown brings some much-needed relief to Americans, but it also highlights a bigger issue within the American political system, which is the endless cycle of rushed and last-second short-term fixes. The government has been seemingly relying on temporary solutions to avoid a total collapse, instead of focusing on solutions that could lead to long-term stability. This dynamic makes it difficult for people to trust that the government can operate efficiently anymore. 

For many college students who are just beginning adulthood and starting to navigate the world, it feels like the people in charge are not prioritizing the most important issues to young Americans, who are the future of this country.

For City College students, the shutdown finally coming to an end means that certain stressors will lessen or fully go away, at least for the time being. Students who depend on FAFSA  and other grants can expect significantly fewer delays per FSA.gov, and those who rely on SNAP benefits or other federal assistance can receive the help they need.

From my perspective, even though the shutdown is now officially over, I feel that the country is still moving in a direction that everyone should be very concerned about. Government shutdowns used to be rare, but now they have become so normalized that it is at the point where a shutdown is expected to happen every few years. This constant instability affects everyone, but it definitely affects us as students the most, as we are the ones trying to build a future in a country that often does not feel like it has one. When you’re trying to plan and manage your education and long-term career path, the uncertainty of our government’s stability is the last thing you need.

While it is a major positive that this partisan-driven shutdown has ended, it is important to acknowledge that this cannot keep happening. We need leaders who will prioritize stability, long-term funding plans and the needs of the people who are impacted by these high-level decisions. Students deserve to feel secure, knowing that their financial aid will come in on time. We as students also need to feel that our federal resources will not randomly disappear, and that the government we live under is capable of functioning without constantly coming close to shutting down completely.

All in all, I am relieved that the shutdown is over, but it is also frustrating that it happened in the first place, as it was extremely unnecessary all around. I hope that going forward, our congresspeople and federal politicians will stop relying on last-second funding bills and take the right steps toward preventing shutdowns altogether. Until then, students like us will continue feeling the effects of political decisions that are completely out of our control.