On December 22nd President Trump shut down the government. Over a month later President Trump finally signed a bill that reopened the government. But not before threatening another shutdown or a declaration of national emergency on February 15th.
Reopening the Government
Since the last week of December, the government has been shut down over a dispute on funding for the wall. Recently, on January 25th, President Trump reopened the government even though he had not yet received funding for his wall. Trump expects that the duration of the government being open will be very short, telling reporters that it would all happen fast.
Before signing the bill that reopened the U.S. government, he spoke to the media. “I am very proud to announce today that we have reached a deal to end the shutdown and reopen the government,” Trump told reporters outside the White House. “In a short while, I will sign a bill to reopen the government for three weeks until February 15. I will make sure federal employees receive their back pay very quickly or as soon as possible. It will happen fast.” [1]
A Compromise
The Senate and the House are expected to come up with a compromise by February 15th. There are 17 House and Senate members working to negotiate a deal. There’s less than half a chance of striking a deal for the $5.7 billion needed for the wall according to Trump. “I personally think it’s less than 50-50, but you have a lot of very good people on that board,” he said. [2]
Trump also mentioned the idea of declaring a state of national emergency which could allow the President to use emergency funding to build the wall. “If we don’t get a fair deal from Congress, the government will either shut down on February 15 again, or I will use the powers afforded to me under the laws and the Constitution of the United States to address this emergency,” Trump said. “We will have great security.” [3]
For the next three weeks though White House officials will continue to negotiate for a wall.
Notes:
- ^“Trump Endorses Short-Term Spending Bill to End Shutdown.” LifeZette, 25 Jan. 2019, www.lifezette.com/2019/01/trump-endorses-short-term-spending-bill-to-end-the-partial-govt-shutdown. (go back ↩)
- ^Munro, Neil. “Trump Downplays Chance of Amnesty-for-Wall Deal | Breitbart.” Breitbart, 28 Jan. 2019, www.breitbart.com/economy/2019/01/27/trump-downplays-chance-of-amnesty-for-wall-deal. (go back ↩)
- ^Kaitlan Collins, Phil Mattingly. “Trump concedes to temporarily end shutdown.” CNN, 28 Jan. 2019, www.cnn.com/2019/01/25/politics/donald-trump-shutdown-border/index.html. (go back ↩)
