The lockout is over, with no winners and a lot of frustration. How did we get here?

WASHINGTON (AP) — The longest government shutdown in history is over, with almost no one satisfied with the final outcome.

Democrats did not get the health insurance benefits they demanded to be added to the spending deal. Republicans, who control the reins of power in Washington, have not escaped blame, according to opinion polls and some state and local elections that went poorly for them.

Read more: Trump signs government funding bill, ending a record 43-day shutdown

The fallout from the shutdown has fallen on millions of Americans, including federal workers who haven’t been paid and airline passengers whose flights have been delayed or cancelled. Interruptions to food assistance programs contributed to long lines at food banks and increased emotional distress during the holiday season.

The agreement includes bipartisan bills drafted by the Senate Appropriations Committee to fund parts of the government — food aid, veterans programs and the legislative branch, among others. All other funding will be extended through the end of January, giving lawmakers more than two months to finalize additional spending bills.

President Donald Trump signed the legislation on Wednesday, just hours after the House approved it. The Senate approved it on Monday.

He watches: The House of Representatives passes a bill to end the longest government shutdown in history

Here’s a look at how the shutdown will start and likely end:

Which led to the closure

Democrats made several demands to gain their support for a short-term funding bill, but the central demand was an extension of an enhanced tax credit that lowers the cost of health coverage obtained through the Affordable Care Act’s marketplaces.

The tax credit was boosted during the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, again through President Joe Biden’s big energy and health care bill, and is set to expire at the end of December. Without it, insurance premiums would double on average for millions of Americans. The Congressional Budget Office predicted that more than two million people will lose health insurance coverage completely next year.

He watches: Breaking down the government’s reopening deal and what comes next

“American families have never faced a situation where their health care costs are expected to double — double in the blink of an eye,” said Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

While Democrats called for negotiations on the issue, Republicans said the funding bill must be passed first.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said, “Republicans are ready to sit down with Democrats as soon as they stop holding the government hostage to their partisan demands.”

Ultimately, Thune promised Democrats a vote in December on extending the tax credit to help resolve the crisis, but many Democrats called for a guaranteed fix, not just a vote likely to fail.

Read more: What’s in the Senate shutdown deal?

Thune’s position was broadly similar to the one Schumer took in October 2013, when Republicans unsuccessfully sought to roll back parts of the Affordable Care Act in exchange for funding the government. “Open the entire government, and then we can have a productive discussion,” Schumer said at the time.

Democratic leaders are under pressure

The first year of President Donald Trump’s second term saw more than 200,000 federal workers leave their jobs through layoffs, forced transfers or the Republican administration’s deferred resignation program, according to the Public Service Partnership. Entire agencies that do not align with the administration’s priorities have been dismantled. Billions of dollars previously approved by Congress have been frozen or canceled.

Democrats had to rely on the courts to block some of Trump’s efforts, but they were unable to do so through legislation. They were also powerless to stop Trump’s massive tax cuts and an anti-immigration bill that Republicans helped pay for by cutting future spending on safety net programs like Medicaid and SNAP, formerly known as food stamps.

Democrats’ struggles to weaken the Trump administration’s priorities have sparked calls for the party’s leadership in Congress to take a more forceful response.

He watches: “We needed to change the equation,” says Senator Kaine on his vote to end the shutdown.

Schumer experienced this firsthand after announcing in March that he would support moving forward with a funding bill for the 2025 budget. There was an outcry in his office, calls from progressives for a primary in 2028 and suggestions that the Democratic Party would soon search for new leaders.

This time, Schumer called on Republicans to negotiate with Democrats to obtain their votes on the spending bill. He noted that Senate rules require bipartisan support to meet the 60-vote threshold needed to advance a spending bill.

But those negotiations did not take place, at least not with Schumer. Instead, Republicans worked with a small group of eight Democrats to prepare a short-term bill to fund the government overall at current levels and accused Schumer of serving the party’s left wing when he refused to move forward.

He watches: Senator Murphy says Trump is “likely encouraged” by 8 Democrats voting to end the shutdown

“Senate Democrats are afraid the radicals in their party will say they have given up,” House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said in one of his many daily news conferences.

Blame game

The political stakes in a lockdown are huge, which is why leaders in both parties are holding near-daily news conferences to shape public opinion.

Nearly 6 in 10 Americans say Trump and Republicans in Congress bear “a great deal” or “a fair amount” of responsibility for the shutdown, while 54% say the same about Democrats in Congress, according to the poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Read more: The shutdown deal does not extend health benefits that expire. What happens to them now?

At least three-quarters of Americans believe that each of them deserves at least a “moderate” share of the blame, demonstrating that no one has succeeded in evading responsibility.

Both parties are looking to the Nov. 4 elections in Virginia, New Jersey and elsewhere for signs of how the shutdown will affect public opinion. Democrats were relieved by their overwhelming successes. Trump called it a “huge negative” for Republicans. But it did not change the Republican Party’s position on negotiation. Instead, Trump has intensified his calls for Republicans to end the Senate filibuster, which would largely eliminate the need for the majority party to negotiate with the minority.

Closure damage

The Congressional Budget Office says the negative impact on the economy will be mostly recovered once the shutdown ends, but not completely. The permanent economic loss was estimated at $11 billion for the six-week shutdown.

Read more: From lost wages to canceled flights, the government shutdown will impact an already struggling economy

Beyond the numbers, the lockdown has created a series of problems for many Americans. Federal workers missed their paychecks, causing financial and emotional stress. Passenger flights were delayed and sometimes cancelled. People relying on safety net programs, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, saw their benefits halted, and Americans across the country lined up for meals at food banks.

“This dysfunction is bad enough for our voters and our economy here at home, but it also sends a dangerous message to the surveillance world,” said Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kansas. “It demonstrates to our allies that we are an unreliable partner, and signals to our adversaries that we cannot work together to fulfill even the most basic responsibilities of Congress,” he added.