WASHINGTON: U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday said a deal had been reached on legislation that would reopen the U.S. government through Feb. 15.
“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.
Trump said in the meantime a bipartisan committee of lawmakers would meet to discuss the nation’s border security needs.
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The government closure was in its 35th day on Friday and was threatening the economy as hundreds of thousands of federal workers missed a second paycheck on Friday.
The U.S. Senate rejected two shutdown-ending bills on Thursday.
Trump had been dug in, insisting on funding for a wall he wants to build on the U.S.-Mexico border, while the Democratic-led House of Representatives opposed the wall.
Democrats in the House had demanded a reopening of the government before any negotiations with Trump and his Republican allies in Congress on border security.
