Government Shutdown to End. Here’s What to Know About the Deal and What Comes Next

(USA Today) – The president announced a deal on Friday to temporarily end to the longest-ever government shutdown, teeing up three weeks of negotiations to end the stalemate over funding for a wall along the southern border.

Trump, speaking from the White House, said the temporary relief would allow the 800,000 federal employees who haven’t been paid to receive back pay and catch up on their bills.

“We have reached a deal to end the shutdown and reopen the federal government,” he said.

But, the deal is temporary and has an expiration date: Feb. 15.

Here’s what you should know about the deal and what comes next:

Shutdown expected to end today

Both the Senate and House passed a bill to reopen the government Friday after Trump gave his speech and approved the temporary solution.

The measure was sent to the White House for the president’s approval Friday night.

Trump said he would sign the measure and called for a showing of bipartisanship to put a final end to the impasse over funding for a border wall.

“Over the next 21 days I expect that both Democrats and Republicans will operate in good faith,” the president said. “This is an opportunity for all parties to work together for the benefit of our whole beautiful, wonderful nation.”

Money for border wall is not part of deal

While the president agreed to reopen the federal government, no border wall money was part of the deal.

The deal will allow the parts of the federal government that were shuttered to reopen for three weeks under the same funding those departments had last year, passing a continuing resolution.

But the $5.7 billion Trump requested to construct a wall along the southern border isn’t going away. The president is giving lawmakers three weeks to come to some sort of compromise on border security. It’s unclear what might happen if negotiations go poorly and a deal isn’t made by Feb. 15.

The president used his address on Friday to continue laying out his reasoning on why a border wall is needed and pointing out that Democrats in the past had agreed to similar barriers in the past.

He also played down the scope of his plan, saying his wall would not be built coast-to-coast, and could just as easily be steel slat fencing.

State of the State of the Union?

The president’s State of the Union address was postponed due to the government shutdown. Now that the government is reopening, is his address back on the table?

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said not so fast.

“The state of the union is not planned now,” she told reporters after Trump’s announcement that the government would reopen.

“What I said to the president is when the government is opened we will discuss a mutually agreeable date,” Pelosi said, adding “I’ll look forward to doing that” and welcoming Trump in the House chambers when that is done.

Trump decided to postpone his address on Wednesday after a bitter back-and-forth with Pelosi.

Trump explained that the House Chamber was the only appropriate place for the address, abandoning the search for an “alternative” location that he teased to reporters.

“As the Shutdown was going on, Nancy Pelosi asked me to give the State of the Union Address. I agreed. She then changed her mind because of the Shutdown, suggesting a later date. This is her prerogative – I will do the Address when the Shutdown is over,” Trump said.

The announcement came after Pelosi wrote a letter, telling Trump that the House would not allow the president to hold the address in the House chamber, where it’s traditionally held.

Trump had lashed out at Pelosi after reading her letter, telling reporters “the State of the Union speech has been canceled by Nancy Pelosi because she doesn’t want to hear the truth. She doesn’t want the American public to hear what’s going on.”

What happens next?

It’s been more than a month since the shutdown started.

And over those 35 days, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have tried to come to a deal that would both appease Democrats, Republicans and the president.

That hasn’t happened.

Now, lawmakers will have 21 days to negotiate a deal. If that doesn’t happen, it’s unclear exactly what might come next.

But, both Republicans and Democrats expressed optimism on Friday that a deal could be possible.

Top Democrats House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said there were areas on border security where both Democrats and Republicans agreed, saying that was a sign a bipartisan compromise could be negotiated.

“I’m optimistic,” Pelosi said. “I see every challenge or every crisis as an opportunity to do the right thing for the American people.”

Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said he was also “somewhat optimistic” about a potential deal, telling Fox News that Democrats should take up the president’s offer for temporary protections for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which includes a group known as DREAMers, and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders.

“To my Democratic colleagues, this is the best chance that I’ve seen since 2006 to get a deal that is a win-win for all of us,” Graham said. “Take advantage of it. If you don’t by Feb. 15, this president has one choice left: to do it by himself by executive action. That’s the last option but it might be the only option if Democrats won’t work with us.”

Executive action still on the table

If there isn’t a deal, as Graham noted, the president could elect to use his executive powers to redirect money for a barrier along the southern border.

The president has threatened for weeks to declare a national emergency to redirect money to free up the $5.7 billion he wants for constructing a border wall. The move would curtail Congress, which under the Constitution directs appropriating funding to federal agencies.

Trump using his presidential powers to clean up shutdown worries would likely lead to another mess as liberals have already threatened to sue if Trump takes such action.

In his remarks on Friday, Trump hinted that executive action is still on the table if a deal isn’t made.

“As everyone knows, I have a very powerful alternative, but I didn’t want to use it at this time,” Trump said. “Hopefully it will be unnecessary.”