White House orders federal staff back to work as shutdown ends

On November 13, the White House directed federal employees to return to work, signalling the end of the historic government shutdown.

The decision comes as operations resume after a closure that left about 600,000 workers on unpaid leave and froze billions in salaries and payments, Caliber.Az reports per Bloomberg.

The directive was issued after President Donald Trump signed a funding bill on Wednesday evening, bringing an end to the longest government shutdown in US history.

“Therefore, agencies should take all necessary steps to ensure that offices open in a prompt and orderly manner on November 13, 2025,” the White House Office of Management and Budget said in a memo released on Wednesday.

“Employees who were on furlough due to the absence of appropriations should be directed to return to work on November 13.”

Many agency shutdown plans published just before the government closure allowed for additional flexibility in bringing staff back.

Managers were advised to permit liberal use of accrued leave and compensatory time — or even allow remote work, which the Trump administration has been seeking to scale back.

The US government shutdown lasted nearly 43 days, marking the longest closure in the country’s history.

It was triggered by a political standoff between Democrats and Republicans over subsidies under Obamacare and funding for Medicaid.

In that time, more than a thousand flights were cancelled each day, low-income families lost access to food stamps, and thousands of federal employees either went without pay or lost their jobs entirely.

However, the full impact of the 43-day shutdown is expected to continue affecting Americans for weeks.

By Jeyhun Aghazada