CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Even as President Donald Trump signed legislation ending the government shutdown , experts warned that recovery for federal programs and services won't be immediate.

"There will be some delay in terms of the immediacy," Michael Bitzer, a political science professor with Catawba College, said.

Bitzer said reopening the government is just the first step in a longer process before operations return to normal.

"We have to remember they have been out of the office for over 40 days, and certainly the backlog is going to take some time at some of these federal agencies to work their way through," Bitzer said.

Thousands of requests, claims and calls have accumulated during the shutdown, which became the longest in U.S. history. Federal agencies will need to sort, process and

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