Congress passed a bill Friday to reopen the federal government for three weeks, until Feb. 15, and President Donald Trump is expected to sign the legislation. WASHINGTON — Congress passed a bill Friday to reopen the federal government for three weeks, until Feb. 15, and President Donald Trump is expected to sign the legislation. Trump announced the agreement to end the 35-day partial government shutdown earlier Friday, and the Senate unanimously passed it Friday afternoon. The House approved the bill hours later. The proposal, as outlined by Trump in his speech, includes a bipartisan panel that will come up with solutions for border security. Before and throughout the shutdown, the president wanted $5.7 billion for a wall on the border with Mexico; he didn’t mention whether the deal included that money, and CNN and The Associated Press are reporting that it does not. It’s not known when federal workers would start getting paid again. The legislation still needs Trump’s signature, then the Office of Management and Budget has to issue a memorandum sending workers back to their jobs. Democratic leaders speak Speaking after Trump’s announcement, Senate Minority Leader Schumer, D-N.Y., said the agreement validated the Democrats’ position, calling it “along the outlines of what we proposed.” He thanked the federal workers for working without pay, saying the administration “treated them as pawns.” He added that the shutdown proved how important federal workers are to the operation of the country. “Hopefully, the president has learned his lesson.” “We agree on many things” that Trump finds important, Schumer said, such as drug inspections and humanitarian aid, “and that bodes well” for an agreement. Pelosi said House Democrats “look forward to working in a bipartisan, bicameral way” on the issue of border security. Schumer said Trump agreed to end the shutdown because “he knew that it was a lost cause.” Pelosi said the Democrats’ “unity is our power. And that is what maybe the president underestimated.” Emergency? During his speech, Trump seemed to backtrack on his border-wall promise, saying that while physical barriers are necessary, “We never did” need a wall “from sea to shining sea.” But he began the speech by alluding to his threat to declare a national emergency to begin border wall construction and ended it by saying that if Congress didn’t reach what he considered “a fair deal,” the government would either shut down again on Feb. 15 or he will “use the powers afforded to me … to address this emergency.” He retreated into the White House without facing questions from reporters. Later, however, CNN’s Abby Philip reported that Trump made it clearer: Trump took one question on the shutdown and whether he’ll declare a national emergency: “We’ll work with the Democrats and negotiate and if we can’t do that, then we’ll do a — obviously we’ll do the emergency because that’s what it is. It’s a national emergency.” — Abby D. Phillip (@abbydphillip) January 25, 2019 Wall funding Much of the federal government closed Dec. 22, when the president insisted on a shutdown because no spending bill had passed that included money for a wall on the border with Mexico. He had insisted on building a wall often during the 2016 presidential campaign, saying repeatedly that Mexico would pay for it. Overnight and into Friday, at least five Republican senators had been calling Trump, urging him to reopen the government and have the Senate consider his request for border wall funds through regular legislation, according to a person familiar with the situation who was not authorized to discuss the private talks publicly. In an embarrassment to Trump, a Democratic proposal to end the shutdown got two more votes in the Senate on Thursday than a GOP plan, even though Republicans control the chamber 53-47. Six Republicans backed the Democratic plan, including freshman Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, who has clashed periodically with the president. The Senate first rejected a Republican plan reopening the government through September and giving Trump the $5.7 billion he’s demanded for building segments of that wall, a project that he’d long promised Mexico would finance. The 50-47 vote for the measure fell 10 shy of the 60 votes needed to succeed. Minutes later, senators voted 52-44 for a Democratic alternative that sought to open padlocked agencies through Feb. 8 with no wall money. That was eight votes short. It was aimed at giving bargainers time to seek an accord while getting paychecks to government workers who are either working without pay or being forced to stay home. Thursday’s votes came after Vice President Mike Pence lunched privately with restive GOP senators, who told him they were itching for the standoff to end, participants said. Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., said their message to Pence was, “Find a way forward.” Throughout, the two sides issued mutually exclusive demands that have blocked negotiations from even starting: Trump had refused to reopen government until Congress gave him the wall money, and congressional Democrats rejected bargaining until he reopened the government. Airport problems Major delays have been reported at airports Friday, stemming from a shortage of air traffic control staffing. It’s not known whether the air traffic control situation had a transformative effect on the standoff, but “senior lawmakers thought it would be something related to air safety,” said WTOP Capitol Hill correspondent Mitchell Miller. “You have definitely felt a lot of heat rising in the past 24 to 48 hours.” Miller added that the sense he’d gotten from senators he’d spoken to was that “we don’t want this to happen again.” Miller pointed out that the proposal is very similar to several others that have died on Capitol Hill in recent weeks. “We really were at this point many weeks ago,” Miller said, calling the situation “mind-boggling.” Pelosi said, “It’s sad that it’s taken this long to come to an obvious conclusion.” Friday was the 35th day of the government shutdown — easily the longest in U.S. history — and for federal workers it was the second straight payless payday. On Thursday, the Senate blocked two bills — one backed by the White House, one by Democrats — to end the shutdown.<doc-sep>Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) walk together after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a deal to end the partial government shutdown on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., January 25, 2019. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives on Friday joined the Senate in passing legislation to end a 35-day partial government shutdown by temporarily funding federal agencies, but it refused to give President Donald Trump $5.7 billion he demanded for a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. The House unanimous voice vote to fund an array of federal agencies through Feb. 15 gives Congress and Trump three weeks to negotiate a deal on border security. Trump is expected to sign the bill into law promptly.<doc-sep>President Trump Donald TrumpTrump lashes out after grand jury seated for New York criminal probe Schumer tees up vote on Jan. 6 commission bill Senators struggle to save Jan. 6 commission MORE signed a three-week funding bill on Friday night, formally bringing an end to the partial government shutdown without securing money for a border wall. Trump skipped the fanfare of a public signing ceremony and instead signed the continuing resolution (CR) behind closed doors at the White House, less than 12 hours after he reversed course and said he had agreed to punt the funding fight. It was the latest sign that the shutdown, which consumed Washington for 35 days, is going out with a whimper. Earlier Friday, the legislation cleared the House by unanimous consent and the Senate by voice vote, an anticlimactic end to the weeks-long drama. Trump warned Friday in announcing the three-week funding deal that if he cannot get a "fair deal" by next month the government could shut down again or he may declare a national emergency to sidestep Congress and build a border wall. Such a move would almost certainly draw legal challenges. ADVERTISEMENT The president's decision Friday to agree to end the shutdown without securing money for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border spawned immediate criticism from conservatives, who warned that he had weakened his negotiating position with Democrats going forward. Trump tried to defend himself from that criticism Friday night on Twitter, saying the deal was "in no way a concession." "I wish people would read or listen to my words on the Border Wall. This was in no way a concession. It was taking care of millions of people who were getting badly hurt by the Shutdown with the understanding that in 21 days, if no deal is done, it’s off to the races!" he wrote. In exchange for Trump agreeing to fully reopen the government, the House and Senate formally went to conference Friday to try to hash out a deal on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) appropriations bills, including border funding. While House Democrats have been passing funding packages for weeks, the Senate vote on the short-term bill came only a day after the chamber rejected two proposals that would have reopened the government. But the calculus changed on Friday as federal workers impacted by the shutdown missed their second paycheck and news of delays at major airports across the country dominated the headlines. The president said that after more than a month he had heard from enough Republicans and Democrats who were “willing to put partisanship aside — I think — and put the security of the American people first. I do believe they are going to do that.” The 21-day stopgap bill will set up another deadline in mid-February for Trump and lawmakers to resolve the fight over construction of a border wall. Trump's demand for wall funding has been at the center of the budgetary stalemate that began Dec. 22. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Addison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellSchumer tees up vote on Jan. 6 commission bill Senators struggle to save Jan. 6 commission GOP leaders face new calls to boot Greene MORE (R-Ky.) quickly endorsed the short-term plan on Friday, saying it would provide “room to negotiate a funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security." McConnell had voted against a two-week CR the previous day. "Going forward, I hope our Democratic friends will stay true to the commitment they've stated constantly over the past weeks, that once government was reopened they'd be perfectly willing to negotiate in good faith on a full-year government funding that would include a significant investment in barriers,” McConnell said. The Senate passed a stopgap bill late last month that would have funded the government through Feb. 8, but Trump caught lawmakers flat-footed when he said he would not support it because it did not include wall funding. Underscoring their wariness, GOP senators largely declined to comment on the deal ahead of Trump’s announcement Friday, saying they wanted to wait to hear what he said. The Senate also recessed so senators could watch his speech. The emergence of the three-week CR plan comes after a group of moderate senators discussed the idea for weeks and Sen. Lindsey Graham Lindsey Olin GrahamSenators struggle to save Jan. 6 commission Police reform fight hinges on qualified immunity On The Money: White House counters with .7 trillion infrastructure proposal, GOP unimpressed | USDA to start loan forgiveness for thousands of minority farmers MORE (R-S.C.) called the president about the proposal on Thursday. Trump had indicated that he did not support reopening the government without a deal on the U.S.-Mexico border wall. But in a sign that he was softening his position, he said Thursday he would accept “pro-rated” funding in exchange for a short-term bill. “I would note that after the failed votes, a bipartisan group of 16 senators came to the floor and each one of us indicated a willingness to compromise. And today I am pleased that there is real progress,” said Sen. Susan Collins Susan Margaret CollinsSchumer tees up vote on Jan. 6 commission bill Senators struggle to save Jan. 6 commission Overnight Health Care: Moderna says COVID-19 vaccine is 100 percent effective in 12- to 17-year-olds | US achieves full vaccinations for half of adults | Trump on Wuhan lab: Now everyone agrees 'I was right' MORE (R-Maine), a member of the bipartisan group. Sen. Lisa Murkowski Lisa Ann MurkowskiSchumer tees up vote on Jan. 6 commission bill Senators struggle to save Jan. 6 commission Overnight Health Care: Moderna says COVID-19 vaccine is 100 percent effective in 12- to 17-year-olds | US achieves full vaccinations for half of adults | Trump on Wuhan lab: Now everyone agrees 'I was right' MORE (R-Alaska) added that while she was glad there was a deal, she said the funding lapse that sparked the longest shutdown in U.S. history shouldn’t have happened in the first place.<doc-sep>“Let me be very clear: We really have no choice but to build a powerful wall or steel barrier. If we don’t get a fair deal from Congress, the government will either shut down on February 15th, 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 at the conclusion of his lengthy remarks in the Rose Garden, during which he discussed the wall in familiar terms of crime, drugs and national security.<doc-sep>
The House on Friday passed a three-week continuing resolution (CR) to temporarily reopen the government by unanimous consent on Friday, moving to end the longest shutdown in U.S. history. The stopgap measure, meant to provide time for the House and Senate to conference on a proposal to fund the Department of Homeland Security, does not include funding for President Trump Donald TrumpTrump lashes out after grand jury seated for New York criminal probe Schumer tees up vote on Jan. 6 commission bill Senators struggle to save Jan. 6 commission MORE's border wall. ADVERTISEMENT Its passage comes on the 35th day of the partial government shutdown, after negotiators struggled for weeks to find a path forward as both parties dug in on their respective positions on whether funding should be provided for the barrier along the southern border. Trump ultimately reversed his position that he would not sign any spending bill that didn't provide wall funding, providing Democrats — who vowed they would not negotiate on border security until after the government reopened — with a significant win. In a press conference in the Rose Garden on Friday afternoon, Trump said he was "very proud to announce today that we have reached a deal to end the shutdown." But he cautioned the government could be shut down again next month if the bipartisan conference committee fails to put forward a proposal on border security allowing for the construction of physical barriers. Trump said he is also not ruling out the possibility of circumventing Congress in building the wall, hinting that he might declare a national emergency. “The government will either shut down again on Feb. 15” or "I will use my powers to build wall," he said. Democrats lashed out at Trump after the announcement, saying the new agreement didn't including anything they hadn't been willing to vote on weeks ago. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle had expressed their growing frustrations ahead of the deal's announcement, with members highlighting the impact it was having on their constituents. House GOP leadership accused Democrats of failing to take negotiations seriously, while Democrats alleged Republicans were "holding the government hostage" over a partisan priority. Both parties attempted to get members across the aisle to buck party lines as they struggled in the messaging battle over who bears responsibility for the shutdown. The consequences of the shutdown were beginning to escalate, with federal workers having missed two paychecks and major airports experiencing delays due to the number of air traffic control employees calling out of work. The CR, which earlier passed the Senate by voice vote, now heads to the president's desk. The emergence of the three-week CR plan comes after a group of moderate senators discussed the idea for weeks and Sen. Lindsey Graham Lindsey Olin GrahamSenators struggle to save Jan. 6 commission Police reform fight hinges on qualified immunity On The Money: White House counters with .7 trillion infrastructure proposal, GOP unimpressed | USDA to start loan forgiveness for thousands of minority farmers MORE (R-S.C.) called the president about the proposal on Thursday. Trump had indicated that he did not support reopening the government without a deal on the U.S.-Mexico border wall. But in a sign that he was softening his position, he said Thursday he would accept “pro-rated” funding in exchange for a short-term bill.