ANALYSIS — Donald Trump was feted by his Cabinet on Thursday over a long-awaited deal, saying that only the president could have brokered it. But it wasn’t an agreement to end a partial government shutdown that has no end in sight, and Trump showed little interest in seeking one.
Rather, with their federal agencies and departments running on skeleton staffs and lacking any fiscal 2026 funding, senior administration officials took their turns to hail Trump for a deal to end the fighting in Gaza. Cabinet members put aside decades of bloody history in the region that suggest the Israel-Hamas pact could collapse with the pop of a single rifle round or impact of one rocket.
“Mr. President, I don’t know if, one day, perhaps the entire story will be told about the events of yesterday, but suffice to say, it’s not an exaggeration that none of it would have been possible without the president of the United States being involved,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said as the rest of the assembled Cabinet members applauded. “Frankly, I don’t know of any American president in the modern era that could have made this possible, because of the actions you have taken … and because of who you are and what you’ve done and how you’re viewed.”
With Senate Republicans and Democrats making little progress on turning on the federal lights, Trump appeared to bask in the adulation over the “phase one” Gaza pact — and gave himself and his team a few verbal nods.
“Last night, we reached a momentous breakthrough in the Middle East, something that people said was never going to be done. We ended the war in Gaza and really, on a much bigger basis, created peace,” Trump said. “And I think it’s going to be a lasting peace, hopefully an everlasting peace … in the Middle East. We secured the release of all of the remaining hostages, and they should be released on Monday or Tuesday.”
On Capitol Hill, Senate Majority Leader John Thune got in on the act.
“It is vital that Israel, and especially Hamas, implement the terms of this agreement as quickly as possible so this can truly mark the beginning of an end to the bloodshed,” the South Dakota Republican said on the Senate floor. “Hamas must disarm and relinquish any role in governance of the Gaza Strip.”
As Democrats decry what they see as a lack of presidential urgency to end the shutdown, the White House was in full victory lap mode, and one financial services executive offered an explanation for why.
“Should the agreement hold and bring stability to the region, it could ignite a considerable rally,” Nigel Green, the CEO of the deVere Group, said in a Thursday statement. “We would see Middle Eastern equities, global energy stocks, and construction and infrastructure firms soar, while financials and logistics would also move sharply higher as investors price in peace, growth, and reconstruction.”
Here are three takeaways from Trump’s latest Cabinet meeting:
‘They’re calling us’
The Republican president did not come anywhere close Thursday to spelling out a plan that could attract the Democratic votes needed in the Senate to reopen the federal apparatus.
During his opening remarks, Trump criticized Democrats as he has done since the partial shutdown began on Oct. 1.
“So, we’re here this morning for a Cabinet meeting as my administration continues to deliver for the American people, despite the radical left lunatics that shut down our government,” he said. “You have Democrats that they’ve lost their way. They have no leadership. We don’t even know who to deal with over there.”
“They have no idea what they’re doing. Republicans have voted repeatedly to pass a clean, nonpartisan bill to reopen government at the same funding levels,” he added. “We’re not going to do anything. Only good for health care.”
The president then launched into a several-minutes-long diatribe about health care costs, other countries and pharmaceutical companies.
But he again said that he and his team have heard directly from rank-and-file congressional Democrats.
“I will tell you, a lot of Democrats want to get this thing open,” he said. “They’re calling us and they … just want to get it open.”
‘Their own medicine’
As the partial federal shuttering hit its ninth day, Trump sent mixed signals about its economic impact.
“The shutdown has been pretty damaging,” he said, before adding: “I mean, it’s not yet, because it’s early, but it gets a little bit worse as it goes along.”
Trump, unlike any U.S. president before him, often says the quiet part out loud. He did so again when describing part of his pressure campaign on moderate Senate Democrats.
“We’ll be making cuts that will be permanent, and we’re only going to cut Democrat programs,” he said, adding later, “Frankly, because that’s the way it works.”
“They wanted to do this,” Trump said of the minority party lawmakers, “so we’ll give a little taste of their own medicine.”
Egypt bound
Trump again teased an upcoming visit to the Middle East to formally codify the peace pact, though the White House has yet to announce such a trip or offer any logistical details.
“We’re going to try and get over there, and we’re working on the timing,” the diplomat in chief said on the eve of the expected announcement of the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, an award he and his surrogates have lobbied he receive.
“We’re going to go to Egypt, where we’ll have a signing,” Trump said. “And the amazing thing is, all of the countries over there, from Qatar to Saudi Arabia to U.A.E. to all of them, the rich ones, the less-than-rich ones, they’ve all come together.”
The president gave credit to Qatar, Egypt and Turkey “for helping us reach this incredible day” and for being “there with us all the way,” before adding Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Indonesia to the list. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan got a special shout-out, reflecting how Trump views personal relationships with world leaders as important to getting things done.
“President Erdogan was personally involved in dealing with Hamas and some of the others. He’s been great,” Trump said. “They’ve all been really amazing.”
Asked if he could promise beleaguered Gaza residents that they could remain in the territory permanently, Trump did not commit but said the U.S. and other countries would create “better conditions” for people there.
Victor Feldman contributed to this report.
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