Chuck Schumer: Bill to reopen government expected to pass House and Senate on Friday
- Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said a bill to reopen large swaths of the federal government is expected to pass both houses of Congress on Friday.
- Standing alongside House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Schumer also said the president is expected to sign the bill Friday.
- The deal doesn't necessarily mean that the State of the Union address will be back on the schedule for Jan. 29. Pelosi had told Trump that she would not permit him to give the speech in the House chamber as long as the government is shut down.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said a bill to reopen large swaths of the federal government is expected to pass both houses of Congress on Friday.
Standing alongside House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Schumer also said the president is expected to sign the bill Friday.
The Democratic leaders' press conference came soon after President Donald Trump announced a deal to end the partial government shutdown and fund several federal departments through Feb. 15.
The shutdown entered its 35th day Friday, a record. Friday also marked the second time during the shutdown that about 800,000 government workers missed a paycheck. Trump, Schumer and Pelosi all back legislation to give back pay to workers affected by the impasse.
The deal doesn't necessarily mean that the State of the Union address will be back on the schedule for Jan. 29. Pelosi had told Trump that she would not permit him to give the speech in the House chamber as long as the government is shut down.
"What I've said is when the government is open, we would discuss a mutually agreeable date," Pelosi said Friday.
As part of the agreement Friday, Democrats and Republicans will set up a conference committee to put together an appropriations bill for the Homeland Security Department, which would include discussions over the president's proposed border wall.
Earlier Friday, however, Trump threatened to let the government shut down again — or declare a national emergency to bypass Congress — if lawmakers do not reach a border security deal he likes.
The shutdown started three days before Christmas after Trump refused to sign a spending bill, approved unanimously by the GOP-controlled Senate, that would have funded about a quarter of the federal government. The president demanded funding for a border wall, while Democrats refused to pass a bill with money for the barrier.
The deal announced Friday did not include funding for a wall.