Trump and US Congress reach agreement to end government shutdown

US President, Donald Trump, and the US Congress have come to an agreement to re-open the government for three weeks. The two sides have come together to temporarily end the government shutdown.

How did the government shutdown end?

The longest government shutdown in history started when Democrats in Congress voted against funding Trump’s proposed $5 billion US-Mexico border wall. After a month of political gridlock and 800,000 federal workers not being paid, Trump and Congress reached a compromise. The government will be open until February 15. During that time, the two sides will try to come to a resolution on funding border security. Federal workers are also scheduled to receive back pay for the 35 days they worked without a paycheck.

'We really have no choice but to build a powerful wall or steel barrier.If we don’t get a fair deal from Congress the government will either shut down on February 15 again or I will use the powers afforded to me under the laws and the Constitution of the United States to address this emergency,' said Trump.

Senate Minority Leader, Chuck Schumer, hailed the compromise.

‘I genuinely hope that this process can produce something that is good for the country and acceptable to both sides,’ said Schumer.

Schumer also warned that government workers can’t be used for political points.

‘We can never hold American workers hostage again,’ said Schumer.

What’s next for the US government?

While the compromise settles the gridlock for now, in three weeks, there may be the same arguments between Republicans and Democrats. Trump and his supporters assert that a border wall will deter undocumented immigration. Democrats in Congress will still believe that a wall is ineffective and support for the wall is racist towards Mexican and Central American refugees seeking asylum.

Amid all the political turmoil, Wall Street has been mostly steady and recently rose after news of the agreement. Bernard Baumohl, chief global economist at the Economic Outlook Group in Princeton, noted that the compromise is good news for the US stock market, but is still cautious about how the government issues will affect Wall Street.

‘There seems to be light at the end of the tunnel with resolving the government shutdown. But I find it difficult to have much conviction in this market on an upswing when there's so much uncertainty both politically and economically about where this country is headed,’ said Baumohl.