Democrats have reached a deal with Republicans to end the government shutdown, concluding a three-day halt in federal funding that was partially seen as a blow to President Donald Trump.
“After several discussions, offers and counteroffers, the Republican leader and I have come to an arrangement,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. “We will vote today to reopen the government to continue negotiating a global agreement.”
Soon after, the Senate voted 81-18 to advance a short-term spending bill to fund the government for another three weeks. The Senate must now vote on the bill before it heads to the House of Representatives.
“In a few hours, the government will reopen,” Mr Schumer added. “We have a lot to do.”
Mr Trump said he was “pleased that Democrats in Congress have come to their senses and are now willing to fund our great military, border patrol, first responders and insurance for vulnerable children.”
“As I’ve always said, once the government is funded my administration will work toward solving the problem of very unfair illegal immigration,” the statement said. “We’ll make a long-term deal on immigration if, and only if, it’s good for our country,” he added in his statement, which was read aloud by Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders at a White House briefing.
In a speech on the Senate floor, Mr Schumer criticised Mr Trump, saying it was a group of 20 Republican and Democratic senators who hashed out a deal while the President “sat on the sidelines.”
The top Democrat had met with Mr Trump on Friday at the White House to try to negotiate an agreement, but the pair was ultimately unsuccessful.
“Since our meeting in the Oval Office on Friday, the president and I have not spoken, and the White House refused to engage in negotiations over the weekend,” Mr Schumer said in a quiet chamber. “The great deal-making president sat on the sidelines.
“Despite and because of this frustration, I’ve been having conversations with the Republican leader over the weekend about a path forward,” he added.
During the White House briefing, Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders hit back at Mr Schumer’s allegations, asserting that ”what the President did clearly worked”. The Senate vote of 81-18 was evidence of this, she added.
“Those numbers are much more in the President’s favour than in Mr Schumer’s favour,” she said.
Earlier on Monday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell promised to take up an immigration bill that includes protections for undocumented migrants brought to the US as children – the so-called “dreamers”.
Mr Schumer said this pledge was enough for Democrats to agree to help end the government shutdown.
If senators fail to reach a deal on immigration by February 8 as part of a broader agreement on federal spending, the Senate will then take up a separate immigration measure.
“The process will be neutral and fair to all sides,” Mr Schumer said.
Several Democrats still rejected the deal – some out of the fear that Mr McConnell would renege on his promise.
“The Majority Leader’s comments fell far short of the ironclad guarantee I needed to support a stopgap spending bill,” said Senator Kamala Harris, who many consider to be a possible 2020 presidential candidate. “I refuse to put the lives of nearly 700,000 young people in the hands of someone who has repeatedly gone back on his word.”
Last week, the House approved a bill to fund the government for four weeks – a measure that the Senate rejected, sending the US government into a shutdown at midnight on Friday.
The House is expected to vote in favour of the three-week spending measure that the Senate will approve on Monday afternoon. It will then head to the President’s desk for Mr Trump to sign. The White House expects the federal government to be operating at full strength by Tuesday morning.
The votes will come after a weekend of finger-pointing between Republicans and Democrats over which party was responsible for the shutdown.
The White House was at the forefront of the blame game, with Mr Trump tweeting that Democrats “could have easily made a deal but decided to play Shutdown politics instead.”
The jabs continued on Monday, even after it was announced that Democrats had struck an agreement with Republicans to end the shutdown. Ms Huckabee Sanders took several moments during the White House briefing to bash Democrats for the closure.
