President Trump announced Friday he will reopen the government temporarily until February 15 to allow IRS employees to send out tax refunds. Over one thousand IRS employees called out sick, which affected the processing of tax returns and delayed tax refund checks.
Trump caved to Democrat demands to reopen the government, saying the government will remain open for only 3 weeks while negotiations are ongoing.
Trump warned that if Congress didn’t finalize a deal for funding the southern border wall, the government will shut down again.
“If we don’t get a fair deal from Congress, the government either shuts down on February 15th again or I will use the powers afforded to me under the laws and the Constitution of the United States to address this emergency,” he said during a press conference at the White House on Friday.
The President was confident the Congress will finalize a deal for the $5.7 billion in funding to build the wall.
“Many disagree, but I really feel that working with Democrats and Republicans, we can make a truly great and secure deal happen for everyone,” he said.
Trump announced a bipartisan committee to review the border patrol requests for security and asked them to come up with a compromised deal.
“They will put together a homeland security package for me to shortly sign into law,” Trump said. He added that, “Walls should not be controversial.”
Trump thanked federal workers who suffered financial hardship during the longest government shutdown in US history.
“You are very, very special people. I am so proud that you are citizens of our country,” he said. “When I say ‘Make America Great Again,’ it could never be done without you.”
Trump’s approval rating plummeted to 34% and his disapproval rating rose to 58% during the government shutdown.
Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images
