DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA (AP) — Yielding to mounting pressure and growing disruption, President Donald Trump and congressional leaders reached a short-term deal Friday to reopen the government for three weeks while negotiations continue over the president’s demands for money to build his long-promised wall at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Trump announced the agreement to break the 35-day impasse as intensifying delays at the nation’s airports and widespread disruptions brought new urgency to efforts to resolve the standoff.
“I am very proud to announce today that we have reached a deal to end the shutdown and reopen the federal government,” Trump said from the Rose Garden.
The Senate was set to approve the deal, with the House following later Friday, according to lawmakers and aides on Capitol Hill. The legislation would include back pay for some 800,000 federal workers who have gone without paychecks.
After saying for weeks that he would not reopen the government without border wall money, Trump said he would soon sign a bill to re-open the government through Feb. 15 without additional money for his signature campaign promise. He said that a bipartisan committee of lawmakers would be formed to consider border spending before the new deadline.
“They are willing to put partisanship aside, I think, and put the security of the American people first,” Trump said. He asserted that “barrier or walls will be an important part of the solution.”
But Trump hinted that he was still considering taking unilateral action if efforts to come up with money for his wall fail.
“I have a very powerful alternative, but I didn’t want to use it at this time,” he said.
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 money through regular legislation, according to a person familiar with the situation who was not authorized to discuss the private talks publicly.
The breakthrough came as LaGuardia Airport in New York and Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey both experienced at least 90-minute delays in takeoffs Friday due to the shutdown. And the world’s busiest airport — Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport — was experiencing long security wait times, a warning sign the week before it expects 150,000 out-of-town visitors for the Super Bowl.
Trump and the Democrats in Congress had remained at odds over his demand that any compromise include money for his coveted border wall.
The standoff became so severe that, as the Senate opened with prayer, Chaplain Barry Black called on high powers in the “hour of national turmoil” to help senators do “what is right.”
Senators were talking with increased urgency after Thursday’s defeat of competing proposals from Trump and the Democrats. The bipartisan talks provided a glimmer of hope that some agreement could be reached to halt the longest-ever closure of federal agencies, at least temporarily.
“There are discussions on the Senate side,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters Friday morning as she entered the Capitol. “We are in touch with them.”
Asked about Trump’s demands for border security measures as part of a bill temporarily reopening government, Pelosi said, “One step at a time.”
Pelosi was referring to a meeting Thursday between Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to explore next steps for solving the vitriolic stalemate.
Pressure has been building among both parties to reopen agencies immediately and pay hundreds of thousands of beleaguered federal workers while bargainers hunt for a deal.
Monday is the start of federal tax filing season. But fewer than half of the furloughed IRS employees recalled during the shutdown to handle tax returns and send out refunds reported for work as of Tuesday, according to congressional and government aides. The employees had been told to work without pay.
At the White House Thursday, Trump told reporters he’d support “a reasonable agreement” to reopen the government. He suggested he’d also want a “prorated down payment” for his long-sought border wall with Mexico but didn’t describe the term. He said he has “other alternatives” for getting wall money, an apparent reference to his disputed claim that he could declare a national emergency and fund the wall’s construction using other programs in the federal budget.
Contributing to the pressure on lawmakers to find a solution was the harsh reality confronting 800,000 federal workers, who on Friday faced a second two-week payday with no paychecks.
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 Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, who’s 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.
On Thursday, Romney released the following statement regarding his vote:
I’ve heard loud and clear from the people of Utah: end the shutdown and secure the border. I voted in favor of the President’s proposed compromise, which would have achieved both goals. When that measure failed, I also voted for an alternative proposal that would open the government and give the Democrats two weeks to put up or shut up – come to the table and agree to a final deal on border security and enforcement. That proposal also failed, and now it is up to Republican and Democratic leadership to come together and negotiate a final deal that funds border security.
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 has refused to reopen government until Congress gives him the wall money, and congressional Democrats have rejected bargaining until he reopens government.
Following the deal Friday, Utah Sen. Mike Lee called it “a relief” that the shutdown was over but questioned the reasons behind the shutdown to begin with.
“The shutdown was not created by the crisis on the border,” Lee said in a statement. “It was created by the failure of Congress to do its job. The way we are doing things now is convenient for politicians, but not for the American people. Government funding and immigration policy shouldn’t be a secret negotiation, but an open debate on the floors of the House and Senate. That’s the only way the American people can be included in this process.”
Utah Rep. Chris Stewart echoed the sentiments but took it a step further, calling on Democrats to continue the process forward.
“I am pleased the shutdown is ending, and workers will be paid,” he said in a statement. “Now is the time to end the political theatrics and for the Democrats to join Republicans in offering serious border security proposals. The Democrats have said all along: ‘Open the government, then we’ll negotiate.’ Now is the time for them to honor that promise.”
Written by ANDREW TAYLOR, ALAN FRAM and CATHERINE LUCEY, Associated Press. Associated Press writer Zeke Miller contributed to this story from Washington.
St. George News contributed to this report with statements from the offices of Sen. Mitt Romney, Sen. Mike Lee and Rep. Chris Stewart.
Updated Jan. 25, 2:30 p.m. to include statements from Utah legislators.
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @STGnews
Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
🙂
No funding for his wall, shut down over, federal employees will finally get paid for doing their jobs, and the cherry on top is Roger Stone being indicted. A great day for Americans.
Can’t wait to see how his supporters spin this one.
I’m not as confident on “no wall” but Stone being indicted is huge. He’s been a political swamp creature for ages. From the little of the indictment I’ve seen it’s going to be hard for him to wiggle out of this and I think it would be politically too toxic for Trump to pardon him. That is if or until he’s a lame duck.
6 political figures related to Trump’s campaign have been indicted. Two were close to Trump for decades, ie Cohen and Stone. This doesn’t bode well for him for primaries, at a minimum.
With all the rumblings in the GOP lately, I wouldn’t be surprised by a primary challenge at all. And, even if no one steps up to challenge him, this debacle will hang over his head like a neon sign during the run-up to 2020. What happened today is sure to anger his base which doesn’t bode well for him either. Even if he does eventually get border wall funding.
Yeah, I wouldn’t want to be in his shoes.
Worst case scenario, he uses the emergency powers to “build the wall”. It will immediately be challenged in court via multiple venues. That could take years and any effort will be put on hold, especially with attempts at eminent domain seizure of private property. In the interim, the Republican party has to decide if they are going to expend their political capital on an incumbent who 1) never was conservative or republican in the first place and 2) continues to act imperically and unilaterally on issues that historically originate with Congressional power according to their own tenets and ideology.
I mean, how long can he sustain his stance when conservative Texan land owners challenge him in court and the media for seizure of private property? That’s a sacred cow of conservative ideology (and one I largely support).
The guy has shown how incompetent he is at negotiations at this level. Being the king of profiting off daddy’s wealth and corporate bankruptcy law doesn’t translate well to running a federal government. He chose a game of chicken and swerved first. If he doesn’t regroup with better strategist than he’ll keep losing to people who know game theory better.
Here’s your spin ice.
February 15 is coming.
Givemedats said they would not negotiate until the shut down was ended.
The President gave them that.
They now have until Feb 15 to find a bipartisan solution to fund the wall.
The Stone thing is a nothing burger except for the spectacle mueller and the fbi made, to make it look BIG.
Funny how your favorite news channel was there an hour early to catch it on film but no other channel new about it
(Spin That).
The President is still in the clear as far as collusion, mueller still looks like a FOOL and has nothing but made up petty charges after 2 years and 30 million bucks, and Stone is going to fight these made up charges.
Don’t see where all the celebrating is coming from but have a good time with it.
Will check back with you on the 15th of next month.
A) they have his emails and texts intimidating a witness
B) They investigation has seized more money and assets than its cost to run. Seized from indicted individuals who were successfully prosecuted.
C) Trump was right when said he could shoot someone on 5th Avenue and his “law and order” base would still support him
So who you talking about here bike A) B) C) Stone the nothing burger?
So what…. innocent until proven guilty as I recall.
Next .
Innocent until proven guilty = court of law.
Your original construction to defend a”nuthin burger” is based on fallacies. 5 before Stone have gone down via successful prosecution. Odds aren’t in Stone’s favor, the self-admitted “agent provocateur”. Mueller has a phenomenal record at prosecuting schmucks who incriminate themselves.
And the “2 year and $30 million” Mueller special consul probe is the most successful in American history. Per B) $50+ million siezed >$30 million spent. And at least 3 of the previously prosecuted Trump advisors are cooperating with Mueller. Stone could be the last one to fall but the educated guess is there are bigger fish to fry.
I wouldn’t waste any time chaining myself to the sinking ship that is Roger Stone. I mean his hero is Nixon.
Like I said bike NOTHING BURGER …. get it. I don’t give a hoot about Stone.
This thing was suppose to be about THE POTUS wasn’t it?
It has been said by many prominent lawyers quote….
” you can convict a ham sandwich given enough time” with a special counsel and unlimited funds.
And we call this justice or is it JUST-US…. it gets fuzzy now doesn’t it
BTW like the fact there is no reply to your last… rant… or comment?
Moving the Goalpost, perfect example:
You said “Stone is going to fight these made up charges.”. I replied “they have his emails and texts intimidating a witness”. You ultimately moved the Goalpost, it seems knowingly with “I don’t give a hoot about Stone.”
Instead of continuing to engage the Stone issue, as you voluntarily did at first you tried to abandon it completely with “This thing was suppose to be about THE POTUS wasn’t it?”. There isn’t a better example of that fallacy.
Its one of your primary tools and just one example of your blatantly bad faith interactions here.
Crickets from the motley two….. bike and ice
Ugh, you chose to abandon reasonable dialogue, what else there to add? You are adept at moving the goal post, I’ll tell you that.
Good spin bike. (according to your definition )
I did’t move goal posts just gave an opinion.
Show me where I moved them
Stone is NOTHING, can you get it now
Just so you can put another feather in your cap, I did respond earlier berating you for your nonsensical post but SGN those to not post it.. What up SGN
Utter drivel and nonsense. You can’t back any of that up with facts either. Just conjecture and speculation. Stop.
Also, what’s my “favorite network”…? I’m not quite sure what that means but I’m sure you’re alluding to CNN or MSNBC or some other network that you hate. Fact is, I don’t watch news networks. Too much drama and hardcore spin. And I don’t like most of the talking head and agenda-driven pundits they drag on the screen. I couldn’t care less what they do because it’s all a big s**t-show for ratings and viewers anyhow.
Pick it apart ice what
“Utter drivel and nonsense. You can’t back any of that up with facts either. Just conjecture and speculation”
Next
Your defending your news sources so vigorously proves to everyone here you are a 24 hr news cycle junkie.
There is a cure…. it’s call shut the dang TV off and don’t look back.
Just Guessin, you are right on. The Roger Stone indictment is about obstruction and has nothing to do with the President. CNN joke news had a breaking news headline this afternoon that P.Trump caved in to Dems on the Wall due to Roger Stone. What yellow Journalism!!! Let others spin it, in the end it is just a delay and we will get the state of the union now. Nothing burger is right. Now we have 2 conservative posts in the comments section. Lol
RIGHT ON BROTHEA
Kilroywashere good angle and it wasn’t even in the back of my mind.
lets list the wins today shall we,
1. THE POTUS ends the shut down. “WIN”
2. THE POTUS calls the Givemedats bluff and gets the SOTU on time where it should be, cause the Prez is about tradition just like REAL AMERICANS. “WIN”
(I think that is the biggest reason the POTUS compromised today now that you mentioned it)
and 3. THE POTUS drew a line in the sand for the Givemedats of Feb 15. or else .”WIN”
I don’t know about you, but if this kinda stuff keeps happening the PREZ may have got it right. I could get tired of WINNING.
Who are you trying to kid? The guy backed down because of plummeting poll numbers. He saw them dropping like a “Stone”. The guy is not compassionate to the common folks, directly and indirectly as demonstrated by how long he let the shutdown go on and several other policies and actions like separating families at the border, the tariffs, his war on the environment, his coziness with Putin, the travel ban, his alienating our allies and many others. The conservative tax break that he supported has almost exclusively benefitted the wealthy, not us common people. Wages have gone up some, which they likely would have without the tax bill. Cost of living has gone up almost as much, making those gains minimal. He has drastically increased the deficit, which us common folks will end up paying for down the road, probably starting as soon as he leaves office in 2021. All this and a huge percent of everything that comes out of his mouth is either a downright lie or a misconstruction of the truth. I just can’t understand how his bobbleheads stand behind him after all this.
Hehe, the irony speaks for itself:
“Let others spin it, in the end it is just a delay”
Spin: : the act or practice of attempting to manipulate the way an event is interpreted by others
you are an expert on that bike… btw was that def from snoopes or whatever that fake fact checker is?
Nope, common enough definition, when you realize spin is short for “spin control”.
Y’all “fake news” folks sure love to dive headfirst into the shallow pool of empty rhetoric. Snoopes, huh? Don’t think I cited them in the last year or so.
Well, well! The orange blob folded, but no doubt will try to claim some sort of win. Even Fox News is reporting that this is a big victory for the Democrats. Ain’t gonna be no wall, folks! LOL, and there ain’t gonna be no second term for the human excrement residing in the White House.
Glad they are opening government but the way forward is anything but certain. The “defections” on Thursday highlight the complexity. Not only did Republicans vote for a democratic backed resolution but AOC voted against it.
Won’t hold my breath buy hope we can get a CR passed and signed as these shutdowns are an unsustainable approach to these disputes. And heaven forbid we ever have a real budget bill again. What has it been, 20 years?
Yeah, it seems it has been a few decades since regular budgets were submitted and passed.
While I’m certainly glad the shutdown has ended – for 3 weeks – it’ll rear its ugly head again unless Trump backs off the wall thing. The only reason he wants it is because the conservative pundits told him he’s a wuss if he doesn’t go for it now. Contracted employees won’t be paid for the time off and if he doesn’t actually compromise, the shutdown will resume. He’ll be sued if he attempts to use Emergency Powers for the non-crisis he made up at the border. I find no glee in any part of this, Trump is out of control and out of touch.
Nancy may have won the battle (for 3 weeks), but she has lost the war. There will be a wall, Trump has spoken! Our fearless commander in chief will not forsake the promise he made to True Americans. The anti-americans will suffer a slow and painful decline, in the vast abyss of the swamp, who our merciless leader shall drain. Nancy should begin begging for mercy while she still can, for she is about to get Trumped!
Redbud , you are inspiring. Like the positive vibe. A little border fencing never hurt any body. You will like green eggs and ham Nancy. Maybe comprehensive immigration reform will result. Never know. The socialists just dont get it. Maybe Rep Occasio Cortez should take a field trip to Venezuela. Her tax plan would put us in a depression if not a complete economic meltdown. The Dems want to make Anerica a third world country.
You’re hoping against hope.
Tippy, now he can give the State of the Union address on time
Yippy*
Yippy Ki yay. DIEHARD. Bruce Willis. Ladybugavenger, it is all Kibuki theater. What is really going on in this world is a mystery to 95% of humanity. Add to that in the USA 1 in 10 Americans have an IQ of 83 and thus not eligible for military service. We can all agree there’s alot of BS going around. Now I wonder what is an avenger of ladybugs? I love ladybugs. LOL.
When you see a ladybug, think of me ? and when it flies away yell, ladybugavenger! lol
Nope no SOTU unless Pelosi gives the ok. Trumps screwed. He’ll be resigning before the year is out. Good, he and his minions are all crooked. Pence is also screwed for standing by this putz.
And it came to pass that Trump built his wall for America, and among all the democrats were weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth! Wo unto them who oppose the wall, for deep shall be thy sorrow. Therefore listen to thine appointed leader Trump, who shall never lead thee astray, that you may not be forsaken in the wilderness and lost unto everlasting darkness.
The only wall built will be the one around Trump and his crooked associates and family to keep THEM in.
Just trying to remember, you don’t worship Trump. Right?
I’ve never seen such cult-like admiration. I think David Koresh would even be embarrassed for you.
And are you trying to predict the wall being built? Just need clarification.
Correct, I don’t worship Trump, and to clarify the wall will be built because Trump said so. Don’t understand why that even needs to be said, we have a President that does what he says he’s going to do.
It doesn’t need to be said to those of us who understand that’s not how the federal government was designed and works. Presidents can promise just about anything to their base but ultimately legitimate is up to Congress.
And if we are trusting his words than we shouldn’t need billions of dollars in budgets for a wall he promised Mexico would pay for. No matter how he tries to walk that one back we remember his “promise.”
The religious language implies a type of cult of personality worship. You use it regularly. Repeating his slogans constantly implies the same. Blindly trusting him implies the same.
*legislation
“I don’t worship Trump”
Says the person who refers to Trump as “supreme leader” and “great leader and protector.”
Your knees would suggest otherwise.
You remind me of the type of person who sincerely puts a MAGA hat on photoshopped images of jesus. And does so without any sense of irony (say with Trumpian concentration camps of immigrant children). The language of Trump “reigning” over America and the religious language you use reminds me of that sort of zeal or fanaticism. Its just not personally or politically healthy.
Comrade Red reminds me of those old stalwart Soviets who miss their communism.
Good God, who are these people anyway? Just saw the ManhattanMadam, Stones best friend, on TV talking about connections between Trump and Stone. Check yourself if all your friends are crooks, mobsters, and prostitutes. You are probably one too. Stone, still a Nixon cronie and Trump bestee. God. You Trumpers are dumb.
Yea Red2Blue(310) Los Angeles – guess you dont live there anymore AREA code, we’re just dumb because we support President Trump. You are a genius apparently. Guess when I got my MBA with a 4.0 at the top of my class in 2005 while working full time for the 2nd largest privately owned German company on the planet indicates I am dumb. Oh and retired before the age of 50. HELLO , your brainwashed dude, by your CNN, MSNBC, BUZZFEED etc. Keep watching TV. Keep up with all the gossip and fake news. You are the genius. LOL. Us Trump supporters are idiots. All good.
Ever hear of Sun Tzu? Keep on thinking we’re dumb. PLEASE. LOL. Maybe you will figure it out Sherlock?
I wish I could retire before 50 🙁 That is really cool though!
Takes adjustment. If you love what you’re doing don’t retire. On that note Redbud, (fellow punk rocker) just found one of my old rock videos from late 80s, early 90s on YouTube tonight. See band, Aversion. song. Falling Full Circle. From my TV pilot- S.C.U.M. TV . Shot in Hi8. Edited 3/4 sp the haaard way b4 non linear. Ex prod. Samuel Z Arkoff. enjoy. All b&w. 1800 views woohooo!
bikeandfish and iceplant try to dominate the conversation on this news outlet. The fact of the matter is that they are just being the very squeaky wheel in our town. They ARE NOT what St.George and surrounding areas think. They are just the losers that have nothing better to do then whine on here. Get over yourselves already. You are the minority and we do not agree with you!
You are new around here. You’ll figure out soon enough I’m not after your agreement or respect.
I’m not the one claiming to represent the town, so that criticism is ironic.
Minority? LOL
That’s rich. Considering our country is being *run* by a minority.
I wouldn’t claim to represent this area if my life depended on it. No thanks.
Yeah I realize that B&F and iceplant are in the minority in a lot of their thinking. I’ve lived in this area for over 15 years now, and I’ve met enough people to know most of their views are similar to my own. As much as I talk about Trump and this and that, the bottom line is that I don’t think the President of the USA is the cure-all to all our problems. When Obama was President, even though I didn’t vote for him, or agree with his crappy obamacare, I didn’t lose sleep over the fact that he was President. Yes I know they have a powerful influence, so I’m not debating that. But whether we all vote republican, democrat, or independent, I think our nation will always be facing really tough problems. Gun control, mass murder, who we should/shouldn’t go to war with, abortion, equality, drugs, gangs, the economy, immigration, the list goes on and on. I feel like these are things we will never fully “solve.” It’s not like we are going to wake up one day when we can finally say, “Oh Look! Our president just single handedly solved all our problems.” The problem I see which actually is quite scary to me is that we are becoming more and more divided as a nation, and it’s becoming us vs. them. We are arguing over really stupid things. When I was younger I felt that even though people held different views, we still had a lot of respect for one another, but now I see that disappearing as a whole. Things are changing for the worse, we are becoming more polarized on certain topics, and it seems like people want to create arguments over logic just so they can prove they are not the “norm.” They are the “alternative” view, and they put on this fake show on the surface, just to be “different” than the rest. I don’t know how or when it’s going to happen, but I think there’s going to be a tipping point, where people get fed up and who knows what’s goint to happen at that time. I actually hate politics in general, but I know what I believe in, so I at least try to vote for those who have similar values to mine. Trump is not perfect, but I feel he is doing the best he can with what he’s got, and he doesn’t deserve all the attacks and hate towards him. I think the people who attack him the most do so because they feel insecure about themselves. If Hillary were President right now, the right would not be acting so childish, and immature as the left is acting towards Trump right now. But since Trump is President, instead they have to whine, complain, put on this grand show thay they are all offended over this and that. It gets old, and myself along with everyone else can see right through it. Things could be a lot worse, and we have bigger problems to worry about, but people would rather focus all their energy into attacking the President, instead of being productive and contributing to society.
The way I see. If the donald is doing things that make MSM pout and cry and sulk and have temper tantrums then he is doing something right. I’m not a donald fan but I can see that he’s doing some things right. We really really truly have to get rid of the illegal alien problem in this country. I’ve know it for over 15 years now. I don’t know why it’s taken so long to be dealt with. I still don’t know if it will be either. There are so many corrupt and wicked interests at play that want to keep the invaders here and keep more of them flowing in. It’s insanity. It makes me mad.
HOLY TEXT FLOOD!
Paragraphs, comrade. Paragraphs.
Yeah sorry about that iceplant, I took some sleep medicine before I typed that out. I only half-remember typing any of it haha.
Well said.
Burp…