Trump: We have reached a deal to end the shutdown and reopen the government #Getty Image
President Trump
on Friday signed a short-term spending bill to re-open the government, ending
the longest partial federal government shutdown in U.S. history. Trump signed
the stop-gap spending bill just hours after the measure passed the Senate and
House, respectively.
"On
Friday, Jan. 25, 2019, the president signed into law: H.J. Res. 28, the
'Further Additional Continuing Appropriations Act, 2019,' which includes a
short-term continuing resolution that provides fiscal year 2019 appropriations
through Feb. 15, 2019, for continuing projects and activities of the
Federal Government included in the remaining seven appropriations bills,"
the White House said in a statement late Friday. "Also included in
the enrolled bill are provisions regarding retroactive pay and reimbursement,
and extensions of certain authorities."
Despite an end to the 35-day partial
government shutdown, Trump on Friday night felt the need to defend the move,
insisting that he had not caved on his sought-after funding for border
security.
The deal for a short-term spending
bill, which would keep the government open until Feb. 15, was agreed on to help
those affected by the partial shutdown, the president said in a tweet.
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!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 26, 2019
“I wish people would
read or listen to my words on the Border Wall,” Trump tweeted. “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!”
Trump
came to an agreement with Democrats to support a measure to re-open the
government and, separately, negotiate a plan for border security. The
deal does not include funding for a wall or barrier along the border, but the
president said he was confident negotiations would continue to come to an
agreement on wall funding.
After
the deal was announced, the president was criticized by some for appearing to
have given in to Democrats.
Conservative commentator Ann Coulter tweeted: “Good news for George Herbert Walker Bush: As
of today, he is no longer the biggest wimp ever to serve as President of the
United States.”
The New York Daily News, meantime, tweeted an image of their planned Saturday edition, depicting Trump along with the words “CAVE MAN.”Good news for George Herbert Walker Bush: As of today, he is no longer the biggest wimp ever to serve as President of the United States.— Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) January 25, 2019
Trump caved.— New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) January 25, 2019
He announced he’s going to sign a wall-free temporary spending package to reopen the government.https://t.co/LN49mtlC6n
An early look at Saturday's front page... pic.twitter.com/UNHHPazZlp
The government ran out of funding on Dec. 22, amid a
border security debate between the White House and congressional Democrats. The
president requested $5.7 billion in funding for border security and
construction of a steel barrier or concrete wall along the U.S.-Mexico border,
but Democrats vowed to block any spending package that included any wall
funding.
During
his announcement, Trump made reference to his previous threats to declare a
national emergency to secure the border, calling it a “very powerful
weapon," and noted that if no deal was reached to fund border security and
construction of a wall before Feb. 15, he would use his presidential powers to
declare an emergency.
“Walls
should not be controversial,” he said. “As commander-in-chief, my highest
priority is the defense of our great country.”
Fox News’ Brooke Singman, Adam Shaw and The Associated Press
contributed to this report.
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