After almost two months, the government shutdown seems to have ended, and I am glad that it’s over. However, I am not entirely satisfied because of the proposed funding bill that would reopen the government. To really understand how this came to be, I want to look back at how this began.

To start, the government shut down at midnight on Oct. 1 because Congress wasn’t able to pass any funding bills. During this time, both parties were talking about healthcare, specifically subsidies that were under Obamacare. Democrats wanted to extend these subsidies to keep premiums from skyrocketing, while Republicans seemed to be against it because they claimed that Democrats wanted to extend healthcare benefits for undocumented immigrants.

This ongoing conflict would continue for a month and a half, and it could have been longer due to how adamant the Democratic Party was about extending subsidies.

After the long conflict, eight Democratic Senators decided to side with the Republicans with a proposed bill that would reopen the government after a promise about healthcare subsidies.

While I am glad that the Government has reopened, I am not happy with how it was handled. For starters, the false claims about how Democrats were trying to give undocumented immigrants healthcare benefits.

Undocumented immigrants were barred from getting healthcare benefits in Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996. The act disproves what Republicans have been claiming about the Democratic Party’s proposal.

Another thing that irritated me throughout this shutdown was the intense blame game between the parties. The Republicans were completely on the train that Democrats were the reason for the shutdown because they were unable to agree on a bipartisan bill. This is also clear with the message that was posted on the Department of Housing and Urban Development website, stating that the “Radical Left” was to blame for the shutdown.

On the other side, the Democrats say that the Republicans were the ones to blame because they have the majority in the House and Senate. Their proposals were to extend healthcare subsidies to people before it expires by the end of the year, which would lead to premium prices skyrocketing.

The proposed bill that would reopen the government didn’t contain that priority, so they voted against it. The bill was rejected 14 times.

The shutdown ended after eight Democratic senators decide to vote in favor of the Republicans, which was disappointing to see. All they were given was a promise, which might go unfulfilled unless something happens in the near future.

While I am glad that the government has reopened, I was not a fan of what we had to endure. At least with the recent addition of Rep. Grijalva from Arizona and the leaks of emails involving Epstein and President Trump, politics will be entertaining.