On the 35th day of the government shutdown, it has finally came to an end. The shutdown, that began on Dec. 22 caused hundreds of thousands of government workers to miss their paychecks for weeks. The US Senate voted on Friday to end the shutdown, without the $5.7 billion the President previously demanded to help build a wall on the US-Mexico border. President Donald Trump announced Friday, Jan. 25 that he would sign a short-term spending bill to reopen the government for three weeks, without demanding money for his border wall.
Image source: USA Today
“I am very proud to announce today that we have reached a deal to end the shutdown and reopen the federal government,” Trump said at the White House. Going on to say, “In a short while, I will sign a bill to open our government for three weeks until February 15. I will make sure that all employees receive their back pay very quickly, or as soon as possible.”
Trump has demanded a border wall over the past few weeks, but Democrats refused to budge, instead they offered money for border security in replace of the wall being built. On Friday, Trump said the US does not need a concrete border wall along the entirety of the southern border.”We do not need 2,000 miles of concrete wall from sea to shining sea. We never did. We never proposed that,” said Trump.
“We never wanted that because we have barriers at the border where natural structures are as good as anything that we could build.”
Trump added, “Our proposed structures will be in predetermined, high-risk locations that have been specifically identified by the Border Patrol to stop illicit flows of people and drugs.”