President Donald Trump in a Rose Garden announced the end to the record-breaking 35-day government shutdown. The deal will bring back the 800,000 the federal employees and open the government for three weeks for a bi-partisan bill will work on crafting a border security plan that won’t include the $5.7 billion he had demanded for his coveted border wall.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will get the Clean Resolution bill on the floor today where it will pass and Trump will sign it tonight. It is the same bill that was passed 98-0 before Christmas, something President Trump had agreed to until the hard right commentators said that he had “caved on the wall.”
He had then Republican Speaker of the House Paul Ryan kill the legislation causing the shutdown to go into effect.
President Trump spoke about getting a border funding that would include “smart physical barriers.” He also talked about beefing up of ports of entry and adding border agents.
He addressed the humanitarian crisis that needed to be addressed as soon as possible. A bipartisan group from the House and the Senate will this weekend on developing comprehensive border security.
Trump closed his remarks saying that he would keep the option to build the wall via the “national security,” on the table if the bipartisan bill was not to his liking including the barrier/wall.
Look for Sen. McConnell to work closely with both Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi can craft a win-win deal. The trio will put together a strong bipartisan team that will be able to craft something both sides can live with.
The $5.7 billion question is can they craft legislation that President Trump will accept. Meanwhile, it did not take long for conservative media to call out the president for caving in on the deal.