US government opens back up but deep political divisions remain

American flags flutter in front of the U.S. Capitol more than a month into the continuing U.S. government shutdown in Washington, D.C., U.S., November 7, 2025. REUTERS/Nathan Howard/

(Reuters) -The U.S. government is due to lumber back to life on Thursday after the longest shutdown in U.S. history snarled air traffic, cut food assistance to low-income Americans and forced more than 1 million workers to go unpaid for more than a month.

But the deep political divisions that caused the 43-day shutdown in the first place remain unresolved.