Deal Reached to Temporarily Reopen US Government

Deal Reached to Temporarily Reopen US Government

CAPITOL HILL —

President Donald Trump has reached a deal with Congress to reopen the U.S. federal government for three weeks, he announced outside the White House on Friday afternoon.

"We have reached a deal to end the shutdown and reopen the federal government," Trump told reporters in the Rose Garden.

The deal, which will fund the government until February 15, does not include funding for a controversial border wall, which Trump had previously demanded. The president said that a bipartisan committee would be formed in the meantime to evaluate border security, but, contrary to previous claims, he was not asking for a concrete wall along the entire U.S.-Mexico border.

"We do not need 2,000 miles of concrete wall from sea to shining sea. We never proposed that," he said.

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The announcement comes on the 35th day of the shutdown, when roughly 800,000 federal employees will miss their second consecutive paycheck.

Congress will need to vote on the deal before the government can officially reopen.

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