The government shutdown is over, but things are not back to normal

The US Capitol in Washington, DC, on Wednesday, November 12, 2025. Al Drago/Bloomberg/Getty Images

The government shutdown is over. But hundreds of thousands of federal workers are coming back after 43 days to anything but normalcy, employees from across the country told CNN.

Flight delays and cancellations will linger as Air Traffic Controllers staff back up. Workers who haven’t received a paycheck in weeks will still have to wait for back pay. Research grants will be delayed. Economic reports are likely to be scrapped. Six weeks of email and voicemails will have to be waded through.

And in three months, they may have to contend with turbulence all over again: The agreement President Donald Trump signed into law Wednesday evening funds most of the government only through January.