Trump Backs Deal to End US Shutdown in the Coming Days
President Donald Trump on Monday expressed support for the bipartisan deal to end the US shutdown, a key development that makes it likely the government reopens within days.
“We have support from enough Democrats, and we’re going to be opening up our country,” Trump told reporters on Monday. “It’s too bad it was closed, but we’re going to be opening up our country very quickly.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he expects the president to sign it into law once Congress passes the legislation.
The Senate still must wind its way through potentially time-consuming procedures and House members must travel back to Washington to vote for the first time since Sept. 19.
The Senate resumed deliberations on its deal with centrist Democrats on Monday. The chamber is planning another test vote on the bill Monday around 5 p.m. Washington time, according to a person familiar with the schedule. A final vote on passage could soon follow, but has not yet been scheduled.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said he would give House lawm
Senate Vote
The Senate took a major step toward reopening the federal government Sunday evening as it voted 60-40 on a procedural measure to advance a temporary funding bill.
Under the agreement, Congress would pass full-year funding for the departments of Agriculture, Veterans Affairs and Congress itself, while funding other agencies through Jan. 30. The bill would provide pay for furloughed government workers, resume withheld federal payments to states and localities and recall agency employees who were laid off during the shutdown. It would also ban federal layoffs through Jan. 30.
Given that the House has to return to Washington and has promised to give lawmakers advance notice, the government is most likely to reopen toward the end of the week. One complicating factor is whether Senator Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican, imposes days of Senate delay to oppose a provision restricting the sale of intoxicating hemp products.
Source: Bloomberg
