The nation’s longest federal government shutdown ended this week after President Donald Trump signed a short-term funding bill to reopen agencies through Jan. 30, 2026. The 43-day shutdown had created mounting challenges for manufacturers, including stalled Environmental Protection Agency and Occupational Safety and Health Administration approvals, delayed Department of Defense payments, halted Army Corps of Engineers permits and disruptions to export licenses and CHIPS Act grant processing.

With federal employees returning to work and agencies resuming operations, Ohio manufacturers should see regulatory reviews, permits and contracting activity begin to move again. Another funding deadline arrives in late January, but the immediate reopening lifts a major source of uncertainty as the industry prepares for 2026. 11/13/2025