Skip to main content

Government Employees Head Back to Work, at Least for the Next Three Weeks

Share This article

WASHINGTON – After days of round-the-clock negotiations, lawmakers finally reached an agreement to fund the government for the next three weeks.

The House voted Monday night to end the standoff after the Senate did so earlier in the day.

"With the pointless, damaging, partisan theatrics of this government shutdown behind us, serious and bipartisan negotiations can resume," said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.
 
Senate Democrats agreed to support a temporary, stopgap spending measure that reopens the federal government – but only until Feb. 8 – after McConnell promised the Senate will take up an immigration bill that includes protections for the "dreamers."
 
"Now those talks can get going again. Whether they bear fruit is up to all of us," McConnell warned.
 
Liberal activists blasted the agreement, saying Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., had caved in, with some calling the deal the "Schumer Sellout."

But Democratic leaders say McConnell assured them that even if there's no vote on the overall immigration issue, the Senate will still vote on a bill focused on protecting the "dreamers."
 
"To all the Dreamers who are watching today, don't give up," Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., declared on the Senate floor.

McConnell says a bipartisan group of senators are to thank for bringing this shutdown crisis to an end. But if lawmakers don't compromise on some big issues by Feb. 8, the government could run out of money once again.

Share This article

About The Author

Abigail
Robertson

Abigail Robertson serves as the White House Correspondent for CBN News, where she has worked since 2015. As a reporter, Abigail covers stories from a Christian perspective on American politics and the news of the day. Before her role at the White House, Abigail covered Capitol Hill, where she interviewed notable lawmakers such as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan. During her time on the Hill, Abigail loved highlighting how God is moving in the House and Senate by covering different ministries on Capitol Hill and sharing lawmakers’ testimonies and