POTUS: sign ‘Act’ to immediately reopen fed gov, fund operations thru rest of the fiscal yr

President Trump signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act ending the government shutdown and funding operations through the rest of fiscal year 2026. The bill delivered multiple Republican priorities: ended all taxpayer subsidies for NPR and PBS, cut nearly $10 billion in wasteful foreign aid, continued USAID closure while creating a new America First Opportunity Fund for strategic foreign assistance, cut funding to abusive IRS programs, built on the Republican rescissions package from the prior summer, fully funded the military with service member pay raise, made historic American shipbuilding investments, and continued funding deportation flights and DC crime reduction efforts. Trump noted the U.S. had just produced more steel than Japan for the first time in over 30 years. Trump then attacked CNN’s Kaitlan Collins after an antagonistic question, telling her she never smiles because she knows she’s not telling the truth, and calling CNN a “dishonest organization” that should be “ashamed.” Trump: “I’m thrilled to sign the Consolidated Appropriations Act to immediately reopen the federal government and fund the vast majority of operations through the rest of the fiscal year. I think it’s time now for the country to maybe get on to something else.” Trump on NPR/PBS: “The bill officially ends all taxpayer subsidies for radical far-left woke programming on NPR and PBS, just a waste of money.” Trump on CNN reporter: “I’ve known you for 10 years. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you smile … You know why you’re not smiling? Because you know you’re not telling the truth. And you’re a very dishonest organization and they should be ashamed of you.”

Signing Ceremony

Trump opened with satisfaction. “I’m thrilled to sign the Consolidated Appropriations Act to immediately reopen the federal government and fund the vast majority of operations through the rest of the fiscal year.”

The shutdown — which began October 1, 2025 and stretched over a month — ended with this signing. The Consolidated Appropriations Act funds government operations through September 30, 2026 (end of fiscal year).

“I think it’s time now for the country to maybe get on to something else.”

Trump’s framework — enough political energy spent on the shutdown. Time to move forward.

NPR/PBS Subsidies End

“The bill officially ends all taxpayer subsidies for radical far-left woke programming on NPR and PBS, just a waste of money.”

Corporation for Public Broadcasting — the conduit for federal funding to NPR and PBS — eliminated. The $500 million annual federal contribution to public broadcasting ends.

The Republican critique of NPR/PBS has been consistent for decades:

Left-wing editorial slant
Political bias in coverage
Duplication of private sector content
Entertainment and educational content available elsewhere
No justification for federal funding in modern media environment

NPR and PBS can continue operating — but without federal subsidies. Fundraising, foundation grants, corporate underwriting, and listener/viewer contributions must fill the gap.

Foreign Aid Cuts

“It slashes nearly $10 billion in wasteful foreign aid spending, giving money to countries that don’t need it. They have plenty of money. And we ended that. That was so important. $10 billion. Think of it.”

$10 billion in foreign aid — eliminated. The framework — many recipient countries have adequate resources and don’t require American subsidies.

Specific categories cut:

Aid to wealthy countries
Aid to hostile countries
Aid to programs unrelated to U.S. interests
Ideologically-driven programs (LGBTQ+ promotion abroad, abortion services, DEI training)
Overhead-heavy NGO pass-through funding

USAID Closure

“It continues the closure of USAID and creates a brand new America First Opportunity Fund who are responsibly providing foreign assistance to nations where it actually serves American interests. So we have nations that do help us and it serves our interests and we have something to help them out with.”

USAID — closed under Trump’s DOGE initiative. The replacement — America First Opportunity Fund. The distinction:

USAID approach:

Ideological programs
Humanitarian framework
Non-strategic aid
Bureaucratic overhead
Ineffective oversight

America First Opportunity Fund approach:

Strategic aid only
Nations cooperating with U.S.
Clear American interest
Accountability
Efficiency

IRS Reform

“This bill also cuts funding to abusive and weaponize IRS programs. I was a victim of that too. You probably read that. Did you read that recently? Right? I was, I guess, the ultimate victim that were used to harass American taxpayers.”

Trump personally — targeted by IRS during various administrations. Tax return leaks, investigations without proper predicate, politically-motivated actions.

The IRS reform targets:

Biden-era $80 billion expansion (mostly reversed)
Enforcement-focused hiring
Political targeting capabilities
Small business harassment programs
Ideological compliance requirements

“It builds on the Republican decisions packaged past last summer which saved Americans billions and billions of dollars.”

The Republican rescissions — passed summer 2025 — saved billions. This bill continues that framework.

Military and Service Members

“It fully funds our military and includes a well-deserved pay raise for all American service members.”

Service member pay raise — essential for recruitment and retention. Military benefits following the Trump administration framework of prioritizing service members.

Shipbuilding Investment

“It makes historic investments in the American shipbuilding industry which is great. We’re really starting to do something incredible with shipbuilding.”

American shipbuilding — atrophied over decades. Asian competitors (South Korea, Japan, China) dominate commercial shipbuilding. Trump’s framework — restore American capacity.

“And I don’t know if you saw that the United States of America for the first time in over 30 years beat Japan. We love Japan, great country, but they’re power and steel making. That we produce more steel this year than Japan.”

The steel milestone — U.S. steel production exceeded Japan for the first time in 30+ years. Context:

Japan was steelmaking powerhouse
U.S. steel had been in decline for decades
Tariffs on steel imports under Trump protected domestic production
Reshoring investment rebuilt capacity
2025 production figures show U.S. surpassing Japan

“Think of that. More steel than Japan. Japan is a powerhouse of that. And we were pretty much dead when it came to steel. So what do you think of that? To me, we did more than Japan.”

Trump’s pride in the steel achievement. Measurable industrial policy success.

Deportation and Crime

“It continues to fund deportation flights that are removing dangerous illegal aliens from our country.”

Deportation flights — ICE operations maintained. Trump administration framework of mass deportation continuing.

“It continues historically successful efforts to reduce crime in our nation’s capital.”

D.C. crime reduction framework — National Guard deployment, federal-local law enforcement partnership, prosecution aggressiveness — continuing with funding.

Reporter Confrontation

The signing ceremony included a reporter exchange.

“But what would you say to people about how care or something that people care about? Yeah, what would you say to people about how you’re doing? What would you say to the survivors who feel they’ve been going to justice?”

The reporter’s question garbled in transcription. Apparent question about crime survivors and justice.

“You are the worst reporter. You’re the one to see. CNA has no ratings because of people like you.”

“CNA” — transcription error for CNN. The reporter was Kaitlan Collins of CNN.

Trump’s framework — CNN’s declining ratings attributable to reporters like Collins.

No Smile

“You know, she’s a young woman. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you smile. I’ve known you for 10 years. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a smile. Long-ass new belt survivors. You know why you’re not smiling? Because you know you’re not telling the truth.”

Trump’s personal critique — Collins never smiles because she’s not telling the truth. Personal and political attack combined.

Trump had observed Collins throughout her reporting career — from initial stints to her prominent role at CNN. The personal familiarity — “I’ve known you for 10 years” — framed the attack as informed observation rather than generic dismissal.

“And you’re a very dishonest organization and they should be ashamed of you.”

CNN as institutional target. Ashamed framework — moral indictment.

Significance

Trump’s signing of the Consolidated Appropriations Act accomplished multiple Republican objectives simultaneously:

Government reopened — end of politically-damaging shutdown
NPR/PBS defunded — long-standing conservative objective achieved
Foreign aid cut — $10 billion savings
USAID replaced — America First Opportunity Fund with strategic focus
IRS reform — abuse mechanisms dismantled
Military funded — service member pay raises
Shipbuilding revitalized — historic investment
Deportation continued — ICE flights funded
Crime reduction continued — DC and beyond

The steel production milestone — U.S. exceeding Japan — captured the broader industrial policy success. Tariffs and regulatory relief combined produced measurable manufacturing growth.

The Kaitlan Collins exchange — while not policy substance — reflects Trump’s continued combative relationship with mainstream media. The personal accusation about truth-telling reinforced Trump’s framework of press adversarialism.

Key Takeaways

Trump on signing: “I’m thrilled to sign the Consolidated Appropriations Act to immediately reopen the federal government and fund the vast majority of operations through the rest of the fiscal year. I think it’s time now for the country to maybe get on to something else.”
Trump on NPR/PBS: “The bill officially ends all taxpayer subsidies for radical far-left woke programming on NPR and PBS, just a waste of money.”
Trump on foreign aid: “It slashes nearly $10 billion in wasteful foreign aid spending, giving money to countries that don’t need it. They have plenty of money. And we ended that. That was so important. $10 billion.”
Trump on steel: “The United States of America for the first time in over 30 years beat Japan. We love Japan, great country, but they’re power and steel making. That we produce more steel this year than Japan … we were pretty much dead when it came to steel.”
Trump to Kaitlan Collins: “I’ve known you for 10 years. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you smile … You know why you’re not smiling? Because you know you’re not telling the truth. And you’re a very dishonest organization and they should be ashamed of you.”