(The Hill)
Congress easily advanced a three-week funding bill on Friday to fully reopen the federal government hours after President Trump agreed to end the shutdown without securing money for a border wall.
The funding legislation cleared the House by unanimous consent and the Senate by voice vote, marking an anticlimactic end to a shutdown that began 35 days ago. It's now headed to Trump's desk where he is expected to sign it later Friday.
While House Democrats have been passing funding packages for weeks, the Senate vote on the short-term bill came only a day after the chamber rejected two proposals that would have reopened the government. But the calculus changed on Friday as federal workers impacted by the shutdown missed their second paycheck and news of delays at major airports across the country dominated the headlines.
Trump announced at the White House on Friday afternoon that he and congressional leaders had reached a deal that would reopen the roughly quarter of the government that closed Dec. 22 and fund it through Feb. 15. It also extends federal programs, including the Violence Against Women Act, that had lapsed last month. Read more
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