Agreeing to break 35-day shutdown, Trump strikes deal to reopen govt for three weeks

Trump announced the agreement to break the 35-day impasse as intensifying delays at the nation's airports and widespread disruptions brought new urgency to efforts to resolve the standoff.

us govt shutdown, donald trump, trump govt shutdown, govt shutdown longest in history, democrats republicsan govt shutdown deal, border wall, trump border wall, world news, indian express — After saying for weeks that he would not reopen the government without border wall money, Trump said he would soon sign a bill to re-open the government through Feb. 15 (File/REUTERS/Yuri Gripas)

Yielding to mounting pressure and growing disruption, President Donald Trump and congressional leaders on Friday reached a short-term deal to reopen the government for three weeks while negotiations continue over the president’s demands for money to build his long-promised wall at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Trump announced the agreement to break the 35-day impasse as intensifying delays at the nation’s airports and widespread disruptions brought new urgency to efforts to resolve the standoff.

“I am very proud to announce today that we have reached a deal to end the shutdown and reopen the federal government,” he said from the Rose Garden.

After saying for weeks that he would not reopen the government without border wall money, Trump said he would soon sign a bill to re-open the government through Feb. 15 without additional money for his signature campaign promise. He said that a bipartisan committee of lawmakers would be formed to consider border spending before the new deadline.

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White House noncommittal on Senate shutdown bill

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders declined to "get into hypotheticals" when asked if President Donald Trump would support a bill in the Senate reopening government through Feb. 8, with no wall money, to give bargainers time to talk.

“They are willing to put partisanship aside, I think, and put the security of the American people first,” Trump said. He asserted that “barrier or walls will be an important part of the solution.”

But he hinted that he was still considering taking unilateral action if efforts to come up with money for his wall fail. “I have a very powerful alternative, but I didn’t want to use it at this time,” he said.