Gayle S Putrich
President Donald Trump signed into law a bill funding the government through Feb. 8 and officially ending a three-day federal shutdown.
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It is a temporary fix, giving Congress about three more weeks to work out a spending agreement for fiscal 2018 — which actually started back in October — and come to some kind of agreement on DACA and broader immigration policy that both the White House and Democrats can live with.
The president’s Twitter feed was unusually quiet late Monday night, but he issued a written statement earlier in the day indicating he was satisfied with the arrangement for the time being.
Moments ago, the @WhiteHouse released photos of President @realDonaldTrump working with his staff during what they're calling the "Democrat shutdown." https://t.co/Gl9Xn7xulJ pic.twitter.com/WjMBc1E5Xr
— Fox News (@FoxNews) January 20, 2018
“I am pleased that Democrats in Congress have come to their senses,” President Trump said in a statement issued by the White House.
BREAKING: Trump says Democrats 'have come to their senses' on shutdown; he's open to immigration deal only if 'good for our country'
— AP Politics (@AP_Politics) January 22, 2018
Senate Democrats — blamed by the president, Republicans and others for the 69-hour shut down — lost their will to fight out of fear of alienating voters going into this fall’s midterm elections, according to the Washington Post. They ultimately agreed to a deal that was turned down the day before: a three-week budget reprieve and a promise from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to address immigration policy ASAP.
Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) told CNBC on Monday he believes an immigration deal will happen before the next government shutdown deadline in three weeks.
“Democrats now realize that Republicans are serious about border security. If they want a deal, they are willing to give on border security,” Cassidy said in an interview on Closing Bell after the 81-18 vote in favor of the deal to reopen the government. “And I think frankly Republicans are willing to address the issue of the DACA kids.”
Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, the top Democrat in the Senate said his agreement with McConnell was not perfect but offered provide “a real pathway to get a bill on the floor” and deal with immigration without hindering the budget process any further.
“While this procedure will not satisfy everyone on both sides, it is a way forward,” Schumer said, having lambasted the president and his negotiation tactics over the weekend, saying dealing with Trump was like “negotiating with Jell-O.”
South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham is already taking heat for saying an immigration deal between the Trump White House and Congressional Democrats failed was because of meddling by White House adviser Stephen Miller, according to Fox News.
Though Graham backed the agreement that ended the shutdown, he seemed less than optimistic about the state of the Senate on Twitter Monday afternoon.
Ending the government shutdown stops the losing for the country. But it’s not winning. Winning is solving the nation’s problems.
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) January 22, 2018
