WASHINGTON: US senators struck a deal on Monday to lift a three-day government shutdown and try to end a fight between Democrats and President Donald Trump's Republicans over immigration and border security.
Legislation to renew federal funding to the government cleared a procedural hurdle in the Senate and was expected soon to pass votes in the Senate and House of Representatives, allowing government to re-open through Feb 8.
Tens of thousands of federal workers had begun closing down operations for lack of funding on Monday, the first weekday since the shutdown, but essential services such as security and defense operations had continued.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said he had come to an arrangement with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to keep the government open for the next few weeks after the Republican promised to let a bill on immigration reach the Senate floor.
The US government cannot fully operate without funding bills that are voted in Congress regularly. Washington has been hampered by frequent threats of a shutdown in recent years as the two parties fight over spending, immigration and other issues. The last US government shutdown was in 2013.
This shutdown, which began on the Friday's first anniversary of Trump’s inauguration as president, undercut his self-crafted image as a dealmaker who would repair the broken culture in Washington.
It had forced Trump to cancel a planned weekend trip to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida and created uncertainty around his scheduled trip this week to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. However, the White House admitted he will fly to Davos as scheduled.
In negotiations over the shutdown, Democrats had insisted that legislation to keep the government running include protections for young undocumented immigrants known as "Dreamers."
Republicans in turn said they would not negotiate on immigration until Democrats gave them the votes needed to reopen the government.
TRUMP EXPECTED TO SIGN
Trump was expected to sign the legislation, which would give Congress more time to try to reach agreement on a long-term spending bill that would resolve issues including immigration, border security and spending caps.
McConnell promised to allow a fair and open immigration debate "to consider a proposal that can actually be signed into law, a bipartisan, bicameral group is already negotiating and I look forward to completion of its work.”
Such a debate would occur if a deal on an immigration bill is not reached before Feb. 8, McConnell said
Democrats want Congress to address the issue of the Dreamers, more than 700,000 immigrants brought to the United States illegally as children.
Democratic Senator Heidi Heitkamp welcomed the deal.
"You now have a commitment for a path forward for the so-called 'Dreamers.; That’s critical. We’re going to get a vote. We’re going to regular order," she said.
House of Representatives Republicans have been told by their leaders to plan on voting on re-opening the government immediately.
Markets have absorbed the shutdown drama over the last week, and on Monday morning world stocks and U.S. bond markets largely shrugged off the standoff even as the dollar continued its pullback. U.S. stocks were higher, the dollar was slightly lower and benchmark treasuries yields were off highs of the day.
Both sides in Washington had tried to blame each other for the shutdown.
Democrats said Trump had not only failed to bring both sides together but made a deal more difficult by changing his position on what kind of agreement on immigration he would accept.
Trump and Republicans accused Democrats of putting the interests of illegal immigrants ahead of US military personnel and government workers.
Early polls showed that Trump and Republican leaders were drawing most of the blame from American voters, but some Democrats worried they would pay a higher political cost if the shutdown dragged on.
US senators strike deal to end government shutdown
US senators strike deal to end government shutdown
Trump is threatening to block a new bridge between Detroit and Canada from opening
- Trump’s threat comes as the relationship between the US and Canada increasingly sours during the US president’s second term
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump on Monday threatened to block the opening of a new Canadian-built bridge across the Detroit River, demanding that Canada turn over at least half of the ownership of the bridge and agree to other unspecified demands in his latest salvo over cross-border trade issues.
“We will start negotiations, IMMEDIATELY. With all that we have given them, we should own, perhaps, at least one half of this asset,” Trump said in a lengthy social media post, complaining that the United States would get nothing from the bridge and that Canada did not use US steel to built it.
The Gordie Howe International Bridge, named after a Canadian hockey star who played for the Detroit Red Wings for 25 seasons, had been expected to open in early 2026, according to information on the project’s website. The project was negotiated by former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder — a Republican — and paid for by the Canadian government to help ease congestion over the existing Ambassador Bridge and Detroit-Windsor tunnel. Work has been underway since 2018.
It’s unclear how Trump would seek to block the bridge from being opened, and the White House did not immediately return a request for comment on more details. The Canadian Embassy in Washington also did not immediately return a request for comment.
Trump’s threat comes as the relationship between the US and Canada increasingly sours during the US president’s second term. The United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement is up for review this year, and Trump has been taking a hard-line position ahead of those talks, including by issuing new tariff threats.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, meanwhile, has spoken out on the world stage against economic coercion by the United States.
Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Michigan, said the Canadian-funded project is a “huge boon” to her state and its economic future. “You’ll be able to move cargo from Montreal to Miami without ever stopping at a street light,” Slotkin told The Associated Press.
“So to shoot yourself in the foot and threaten the Gordie Howe Bridge means that this guy has completely lost the plot on what’s good for us versus just what’s spite against the Canadians,” Slotkin said.
Michigan, a swing state that Trump carried in both 2016 and 2024, has so far largely avoided the brunt of his second-term crackdown, which has targeted blue states with aggressive immigration raids and cuts to federal funding for major infrastructure projects.
Trump and Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer have also maintained an unusually cordial relationship, with the president publicly praising her during an Oval Office appearance last April. The two also shared a hug last year ahead of Trump’s announcement of a new fighter jet mission for an Air National Guard base in Michigan.
While Canada paid for the project, the bridge will be operated under a joint ownership agreement between Michigan and Canada, said Stacey LaRouche, press secretary to Whitmer.
“This is the busiest trade crossing in North America,” LaRouche said, saying the bridge was “good for Michigan workers and it’s good for Michigan’s auto industry” as well as being a good example of bipartisan and international cooperation.
“It’s going to open one way or another, and the governor looks forward to attending the ribbon-cutting,” LaRouche said.
Rep. Shri Thanedar, the Democratic House representative of Detroit, said blocking the bridge would be “crazy” and said Trump’s attacks on Canada weren’t good for business or jobs. “The bridge is going to help Michigan’s economy. There’s so much commerce between Michigan and Canada. They’re one of our biggest partners,” Thanedar said.
Democratic Rep. Debbie Dingell of Ann Arbor brushed aside the president’s threat, saying she’s looking forward to the bridge’s opening later in the spring. “And I’ll be there,” Dingell said.
“That bridge is the biggest crossing in this country on the northern border. It’s jobs. It’s about protecting our economy. It was built with union jobs on both sides,” said Dingell. “It’s going to open. Canada is our ally.”
