President Donald Trump announced on Friday afternoon from the White House’s Rose Garden that he and lawmakers on Capitol Hill have reached an agreement to end the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.
“I’m very proud to announce today that we have reached a deal to end the shutdown and reopen the federal government,” Trump said in the Rose Garden. Trump also disussed the option of using a “very powerful alternative,” meaning a declaration of a national emergency to build the wall with executive authority in contravention of Congress, but said “I did not want to use it at this time.”
“In a short while, I will sign a bill to reopen our federal government for three weeks until Feb.15,” Trump said, confirming details first reported by the Drudge Report and subsequently confirmed by other media outlets. He said that he will ensure federal employees will receive back pay “very quickly.”
Trump also said this deal will trigger a bipartisan conference committee on Capitol Hill to begin reviewing a request from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for a border wall.
“Walls should not be controversial,” Trump said, adding that Border Patrol agents have told him that “walls work” citing previous Democrat support for barriers on the border and foreign countries like Israel that have built walls to protect their borders.
Trump ended his White House Rose Garden remarks by noting that if the Congress does not reach a deal by Feb. 15, the government will shut down again or he will use the executive authority for a declaration of a national emergency to build the wall.
This new development is a remarkable change in the trajectory of a shutdown that has lasted more than 30 days, starting before Christmas, and comes as Republicans on Capitol Hill got jittery after airports experienced major delays on Friday morning due to the extended shutdown’s long-term effects.
The Drudge Report flashed a banner headline on Friday afternoon that lawmakers have reached a deal to reopen the government and end the longest shutdown in history, at least “temporarily.”
The Drudge Report went up with three banner headlines announcing the news early Friday afternoon. The first read, “SOURCE: SHUTDOWN AGREEMENT REACHED.” The second said, “ANNOUNCEMENT SET FOR 1 PM.” The third said, “GOVT TO REOPEN ‘TEMPORARILY'”:
It is thus far unclear what the parameters are of a deal, as this is a breaking story. But CNN’s Manu Raju also reported that the White House is planning an afternoon announcement:
To reopen the government, a plan would need a majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, 60 votes in the Senate, and support from President Donald Trump. Democrats control the House, and Republicans control the Senate with a 53-seat majority. A quarter of the federal government has been shut down since before Christmas as Trump has pushed Congress to fund his planned wall along the U.S. border with Mexico.
Major Garrett of CBS News also confirmed, after Drudge, that there is a looming announcement from Trump on a shutdown deal:
After that, Jordian Fabian of The Hill newspaper sent a pool report to the White House press pool announcing a announcement is likely but the White House has yet to confirm anything. “By now, you have all seen reports the president is planning to make an announcement this afternoon related to the shutdown. The White House has not officially confirmed this,” Fabian wrote. “However, your pooler can report that preparations are being made in the Rose Garden for some kind of announcements. A riser has been set up, ropes put in place, and a TelePrompter placed facing the Oval. If you would like to cover this (maybe happening) event in person, I suggest trying to get over here as soon as you can. Stay tuned for more details.”
This new development comes in the wake of news that several major airports experienced flight delays on Friday morning due to the shutdown affecting the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). “The President has been briefed and we are monitoring the ongoing delays at some airports,” White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement Friday morning about the delays. “We are in regular contact with officials at the Department of Transportation and the FAA.”
Sanders later confirmed that the president will speak at the White House in the Rose Garden at 1:30 p.m.:
But it remains to be seen if all sides will sign off on the deal. CNN’s Jim Acosta reported that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is involved in the negotiations, but again to reopen the government the president, a majority in the House, and 60 senators would need to agree on a deal.
After the White House announcement from Sanders, Drudge added another headline in red onto his group in the banner questioning whether this deal would have money for the president’s wall: “NO WALL FUNDS.”
Then, the Washington Post seemed to confirm these details that Drudge first reported. “Congressional leaders, Trump have reached a tentative deal to temporarily reopen the government without wall funds, according to Hill officials,” the Post reported. “With President Trump’s approval, the pact would reopen the government for three weeks while leaving the issue of $5.7 billion for the U.S.-Mexico border wall to further talks. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations.”
Fox News’ Chad Pergram says the deal is likely to be a three-week continuing resolution to fund the government at current levels, and would potentially be approved in the House by a voice vote:
More details about a potential deal are emerging as the nation awaits the president to speak from the Rose Garden. Specifically, reports are that the deal will not fund the wall –but will reopen government until Feb. 15, a three-week continuing resolution.
What’s more, the House and Senate may pass these via voice votes or unanimous consent, which could happen very quickly:
While the deal does not contain funding for new border wall or barrier construction, it does reportedly contain money for repairs to existing barriers:
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