Trump says US lawmakers are close to resolution on government funding to end shutdown
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US House Speaker Mike Johnson said he believes he has the Republican votes to end a partial government shutdown within days.
PHOTO: BLOOMBERG
WASHINGTON - US lawmakers in Congress are nearing a resolution aimed at ending a partial government shutdown, US President Donald Trump said on Feb 2.
He told reporters that he had spoken to House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune and they indicated that “they’re pretty close to a resolution”.
He said he had also spoken with Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer numerous times and did not believe Democrats wanted to see a shutdown.
A partial shutdown took effect at 12:01am Eastern time (1pm, Singapore time, Feb 2) after Congress failed to approve a deal to keep a wide swath of operations funded, but it is expected to be brief, with lawmakers from both parties working to reach a deal.
Mr Johnson said on Feb 1 he believes he has the Republican votes to end a partial government shutdown within days and that the chamber will debate Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reforms for two weeks after that.
Mr Trump said last year’s shutdown, which lasted a record 43 days, knocked US gross domestic product down by 1.5 percentage points.
The Senate easily passed a spending package on Jan 30 but the House of Representatives is out of town.
The deal approved by the Senate would separate the Department of Homeland Security from the broader spending package. This would allow lawmakers to approve funding for agencies such as the Pentagon and the Department of Labor while new restrictions are considered on federal immigration agents amid uproar after two US citizens were shot dead in Minneapolis. REUTERS
