Deal reached to lift US shutdown

DONALD Trump’s enemies have been left with their pants down after a high-stakes gamble that backfired badly on them.

ANALYSIS

IN THE staring match that gripped Washington DC over the weekend, it was the Democrats who blinked first.

Senate Democrats chose to push the US government into a shutdown — smack bang on the anniversary of Donald Trump assuming the presidency. The hope was that the move would embarrass the commander-in-chief, and strongarm Republicans into protecting the Dreamers, more than 700,000 illegal immigrants who came to the country when they were children.

Forcing a shutdown is a risky political move. Last time it happened in 2013 over Obamacare, the Republicans copped the blame. This time around, it’s not yet clear who voters will punish.

Regardless, the Democrats have given in just three days after taking the nuclear option — and they’ve got next to nothing to show for it.

They wanted a deal on the Dreamers. All Republican Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell has pledged is that it is his “intention” to deal with immigration issues in the Senate over the next three weeks. They received no commitment on whether House Republicans would get on board. In the wildly unpredictable age of the Trump presidency, you have to wonder how much stock the Democrats should place in such a shaky promise.

Republican senate majority leader Mitch McConnell pleased after the senate votes to fund the US government. Picture: AFP/Brendan Smialowski

After Democrat Chuck Schumer sat down with Mr Trump on Friday over cheeseburgers to try to hash out a deal to avoid a shutdown, Senator Schumer rejected the offer of a three-week stopgap funding bill. But that is exactly what he agreed to today — and little more.

The Republicans would have been forced to deal with the Dreamers soon enough, because Mr Trump gave the Congress a March 5 deadline to resolve their status once and for all.

So, it’s unclear what the Democrats won from grinding the government to a halt.

Democratic Congressman Cedric Richmond is among those who thinks the senators in his party were outfoxed by the Republicans.

“They are getting their butts kicked,” he said, according to CNN.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the Democrats’ position was “indefensible” and that, in the end, they agreed to everything that was in the original continuing resolution.

Mr Trump said he was “pleased” the Democrats had “come to their senses” but added that “we will make a long-term deal on immigration if, and only if, it is good for our country”.

He tweeted at the weekend that the shutdown was a “nice present” on his one-year anniversary.

Donald Trump says the shutdown was a ‘nice present’ on his anniversary. Picture: AFP/Mandel Ngan

The Democrats argue, however, that the Republicans are in control of the White House, the House of Representatives and the Senate — so any shutdown is their fault.

Senator Schumer tried to blame the whole mess on Mr Trump.

“President Trump’s unwillingness to compromise caused the Trump shutdown,” he told the senate on Monday, saying that the White House refused to engage with him after their Friday meeting.

“The great deal making president sat on the sidelines.”

While the shutdown will lift by Tuesday, all Congress has agreed to is a three-week fix. If Democrats and Republicans can’t come to agreement on hugely contentious immigration issues by February 8, they could be right back in the same position all over again.

The clock is ticking.

DEAL REACHED TO LIFT SHUTDOWN

The US government is on the brink of reopening after two and a half days of chaos in Washington DC.

Democrats have agreed to another short-term budget deal that would keep the government running until February 8 after Senator McConnell vowed to consider legislation to protect illegal immigrants who came to the country as children.

Immigration, particularly the fate of the Dreamers, led to the temporary closure of the government on Friday night.

US politicians worked through the weekend to reach a deal, as each side blamed the other for the shutdown.

Senator McConnell said “the American people didn’t understand” why Democrats shut down the government over “illegal immigrants”.

A Bill to end the shutdown passed the Senate 81-18 on Monday afternoon. It will now be voted on in the House before making its way to the President’s desk. If all goes to plan, government operations will be back up and running by Tuesday.

The shutdown robbed Donald Trump of a chance to celebrate his first anniversary in office. He was forced to cancel a planned fundraiser in Florida to mark 12 months since his inauguration and instead stayed in Washington as political finger-pointing intensified.

The closure forced hundreds of thousands of government employees to stay home without pay — and Mr Trump accused the Democrats of putting the US military in jeopardy.

Democrats are holding our Military hostage over their desire to have unchecked illegal immigration. Can’t let that happen!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 20, 2018

However, Mr Trump exaggerated the effect the shutdown would have on the military. America’s 1.3 million uniformed troops remained on duty during the shutdown and all national security operations continued.

Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer says Donald Trump is to blame for the shutdown. Picture: AP Photo/J Scott Applewhite

While the deal to end the shutdown is likely to take effect within hours, it is unclear whether US politicians will find themselves in the same predicament in three weeks when the stopgap agreement expires.

While Mr Trump has indicated a willingness to protect the Dreamers, others within the Republican party believe such a deal would provide unacceptable amnesty to illegal immigrants.

Forcing a shutdown was a politically risky move for the Democrats and it’s yet to be seen which side of politics voters will blame for the chaos.