Shutdown Deal Reached to Reopen Government for Three Weeks

Speaking from the White House Rose Garden on Friday, President Trump announced that a deal had been reached to temporarily end the partial government shutdown.

“I am very proud to announce today that we have reached a deal to end the shutdown and reopen the federal government,” Trump said. “As everyone knows, I have a very powerful alternative, but I didn't want to use it at this time."

The "alternative" Trump cited is presumably a decision to declare a national emergency and direct construction of a border wall, a threat he has voiced at various points over the past month.

Congressional leaders and Trump on Friday agreed to a stop-gap spending plan that would fund the government until Feb. 15. The three-week temporary funding bill would reopen shuttered agencies and leave Trump's request for wall funding for later talks.

Any temporary funding bill would simply extend agency funding at the last fiscal year's levels and would include some money for border security — but not a wall.

Trump triggered the shutdown, which began on Dec. 22, 2018, when he demanded the $5.7 billion in money for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border that he has long promised but that Democrats oppose as costly, ineffective, and immoral. Trump at the time said he would not sign legislation to fund government agencies if the wall money was not included.

Friday’s announcement coincided with chaotic airport delays in the Northeast. Hundreds of flights were grounded or delayed at airports in the New York area and Philadelphia as more air traffic controllers called in sick. The Federal Aviation Administration issued a ground stop for flights destined for New York's LaGuardia Airport on Friday morning before lifting it about an hour later. Staff shortages also delayed flights at Newark Liberty International Airport and Philadelphia International Airport, the FAA said.

Hundreds of thousands of federal workers have been furloughed or, as with some airport workers, required to work without pay. Some federal agencies have reported much higher absence rates among workers as they face an indefinite wait for their next paychecks.

Pressure had been mounting on Trump to reopen the government from aviation-related workers. Earlier on Friday, the President of the Association of Flight Attendants-CW had released a video encouraging workers to occupy their congressional offices and demand an end to the shutdown.

In the coming weeks, Trump said he plans to continue discussions with Democrats regarding funding for border security.

If a deal is not reached within the three-week time window, it appears Trump may make good on his threat to decleare a national emergency in order to fund his border ball — a move that many believe would be challenged in court. 

At the end of his speech, Trump claimed that if no deal was reached that he would "use the powers afforded to me ... to address this emergency.”

Reuters reporting contributed to this story.