Trump Turns Shutdown Ending into Show of Strength Ahead of 2026 US Elections – Rezazade

US President Donald Trump has signed a law to reopen the federal government, officially ending the longest shutdown in the country’s history, which lasted 43 days. The political paralysis has led to widespread disruptions in government operations, delays in aid payments to low-income families and chaos at airports.

Speaking from the White House, Trump blamed the crisis on the Democratic Party, calling the end of the shutdown a “Republican victory.” He urged Americans to remember the situation ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, trying to use the moment as a political trump card — despite polls showing that a majority of voters blame Republicans for the government shutdown.

“This is not how you run a country. "I hope everyone agrees that the government should never shut down again," Trump said live on air, promising reform that would make it impossible to block the government through a filibuster.

The House of Representatives voted earlier in the day to reopen federal agencies for the first time since an eight-week recess. House Speaker Mike Johnson declared that "the Democratic shutdown is finally over" and called the actions of opponents a "selfish political stunt."

The approved package would keep the government funded through Jan. 30. The document also includes three budget bills, reverses more than 4,000 layoffs the administration tried to implement during the shutdown, and guarantees the continuation of the SNAP food assistance program through September 2026.

The first vice president of the Iranian opposition in Washington, international expert Ali Reza Rezazade noted in a commentary that Trump used the end of the government crisis as a political performance aimed at strengthening his own image as a strong leader.

“Trump is demonstrating that he can end the crisis that he created. This is a classic policy of control through chaos - he creates tension, and then positions himself as the only one who can resolve it. This is the strategy that allows him to consolidate the electorate before the elections,” Rezazade emphasized.

The expert emphasized that Trump seeks to use the topic of the “shutdown” not only for domestic politics, but also as an argument in his rhetoric about the “inefficiency of the old political system.” “He is trying to prove that Washington does not work without him, that only his approach is “real governance.” This is a dangerous but effective political strategy based on the personalization of power,” Rezazadeh noted.

In his opinion, the 2025 “shutdown” became a signal to investors and US allies about the instability of the American political process, which could have long-term consequences for trust in American institutions.

“Every time the US government stops, it hits not only the economy, but also the international authority of the country. And Trump understands this - he turns even crises into tools of influence,” Ali Reza Rezazade concluded.