Donald Trump signed into law on Wednesday the law ending the longest budget impasse in US history, using it to attack the Democratic opposition and once again tout his economic policies.

"We will never give in to blackmail," the US president declared as he signed the text adopted shortly before by the US Congress, after 43 days that have shaken up entire sectors of the American economy.

Several federal agencies have asked their employees to report to work as early as Thursday, according to US media. Officials from the Departments of Health and Human Services, the Interior, Housing and Urban Development, and Justice have been asked to return to work.

- The deadlock over "Obamacare" -

Seeking to emerge victorious from this standoff with the opposition, Donald Trump attacked the "extremists of the other party," accusing them of having shut down the government for "purely political reasons."

According to him, "the country has never been doing better," even as polls show growing dissatisfaction among Americans with the health of the national economy.

After the Senate on Monday, the House of Representatives approved the budget bill with 222 votes in favor and 209 against. Only six Democratic representatives joined the presidential majority, but two Republicans voted against it.

"The fight is not over," said Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic minority leader in the House, on CBS, promising that Democrats would maintain pressure on the Trump administration to extend subsidies for "Obamacare," the health coverage for the most vulnerable.

The leading Democrat again called on Republicans to keep their promise to hold a vote on the program quickly. "It's not too late" to extend these subsidies, he added.

Because the text passed by Congress leaves this crucial question unclear beyond December 31st. And Donald Trump has made no secret of his intentions, calling this measure a "disaster" and a "nightmare" that must be abolished.

He believes that instead of subsidizing a collective system, funding should be redistributed "directly" to Americans, so that they can individually choose their health insurance.

These are the issues at the heart of the dispute that led to the shutdown. Without their extension, health insurance costs are expected to more than double in 2026 for the 24 million Americans who use Obamacare, according to KFF, a think tank specializing in health issues.

- Rare concessions -

After more than 40 days of budget deadlock, a handful of Democratic senators finally surrendered on Monday by approving with their Republican colleagues a new bill, which extends the previous budget until January 30.

Among the few concessions to the opposition, the text provides for the reinstatement of civil servants dismissed since the beginning of the "shutdown".

It also includes funding for the SNAP food assistance program through September, thus preventing this aid, which benefits more than 42 million Americans, from being frozen in the event of another budget paralysis at the end of January, as was the case during this blockage.

Since October 1st, over a million civil servants have not been paid. The disbursement of certain benefits has been severely disrupted, and tens of thousands of flights have been cancelled in recent days due to shortages of air traffic controllers, some of whom had chosen to call in sick rather than work without pay.

Flights were expected to resume gradually in the coming hours and days, mirroring the need to restart the entire economy. As of 9:00 AM GMT on Thursday, nearly a thousand flights had been canceled in the United States and more than 400 were delayed, according to FlightAware.

The "shutdown" will also have political consequences that are still difficult to assess.

Many Democrats wondered why a few senators had given in just a few days after their party's sweeping victories in important elections across the country, including the New York mayoral race, which they believed validated their strategy in Congress.

California Governor Gavin Newsom notably lamented a "capitulation" in a message on X.