Deal Reached to End Record U.S. Shutdown, Government to Reopen

Trump agreed to reopen government without border wall funding, easing a 35-day standoff that became the longest U.S. shutdown on record and setting up three weeks of talks on border security.

What Happened

On January 25, 2019, President Donald Trump announced in the White House Rose Garden that a deal had been reached to end the partial federal shutdown and reopen agencies on a temporary basis. The stopgap funds agencies through February 15, 2019, while a bipartisan conference committee negotiates a broader border security package. Congress quickly cleared the measure by voice vote, and the president signed it later that evening, formally ending the funding lapse on Day 35.

How We Got Here

The shutdown began in late December amid a dispute over $5.7 billion for a U.S.–Mexico border wall. With neither the Democratic-led House nor the Republican-led Senate able to break the impasse, about 800,000 federal employees were furloughed or worked without pay and ultimately missed two paychecks. The strain showed up across the country: safety inspections were curtailed, tax operations slowed, and airport delays mounted after unpaid air traffic controllers called out, adding urgency to reach a deal.

What It Means

Core government operations are set to resume, and workers will return to their posts. Crucially, Back pay is guaranteed under Public Law 116-1, which requires that furloughed and excepted federal employees receive the wages they missed once funding is restored. The agreement does not include new wall funding, leaving the central policy dispute unresolved. In his remarks, Trump said he would consider another shutdown—or invoking emergency powers—if talks fail to yield a border security compromise by the mid-February deadline.

What’s Next

House and Senate negotiators will attempt to craft a bipartisan Department of Homeland Security appropriations plan before February 15, balancing calls for physical barriers, technology, and personnel. The outcome will determine whether Washington can translate this temporary truce into a durable spending deal—or slide back toward another funding crisis just weeks after the government reopens.

Sources

• Trump signs bill to open the government, ending the longest shutdown in history — The Washington Post (January 25, 2019)
• Remarks by President Trump on the Government Shutdown — The White House (January 25, 2019)
• S.24 — Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019 — Congress.gov (January 16, 2019)