Bill Passes House to Reopen Government

Government operations funded through February 8th

WASHINGTON (AP) – Congress has approved a bipartisan agreement to re-open the federal government after a three-day partial shutdown. The House approved the bill, 266-150, hours after the Senate backed it, 81-18. President Donald Trump is expected to quickly sign the measure to fund government operations through Feb. 8. The votes set the stage for hundreds of thousands of federal workers to return Tuesday, cutting short what could have become a messy and costly ordeal. Senate Democrats reluctantly voted in favor of the bill, relenting in return for Republican assurances that the Senate will soon take up the plight of young immigrant “dreamers” and other contentious issues.

As the federal government shutdown wound down, President Donald Trump remained out of sight, suppressing his instincts to make himself part of the story by making a deal or picking a fight. Though Trump told allies over the weekend that he hated being on the sidelines, he followed the recommendations of his staff and key congressional Republicans and removed himself from the negotiations. He kept his thoughts limited to a few Twitter bursts that bashed Democrats.

Republicans tried to make Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer the face of the government shutdown. Now, he’s becoming the face of the Democratic retreat. For two days, Schumer succeeded in keeping his party unified, but as the shutdown moved into its third day, the New York Democrat and his party buckled as several Democrats backed a deal to end the shutdown. Schumer quickly became a punching bag for the right and left.