White House hopeful shutdown will end

The White House expressed optimism on Wednesday that the longest government shutdown in U.S. history could come to an end later in the evening, as lawmakers appeared ready to send the funding deal to President Donald Trump for his signature.

White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told reporters, “Tonight, thanks to Republicans, the White House is very hopeful that this shutdown is going to come to an end. President Trump looks forward to finally ending this devastating Democrat shutdown with his signature.”

Leavitt added that Trump may sign the bill in front of reporters. The shutdown has now entered its 43rd day.

The House of Representatives is expected to vote on the funding deal at 7 pm local time (2300 GMT), following the Senate’s 60-40 approval.

The legislation funds the government at previous levels until 30 January and includes three year-long appropriations packages for essential agencies and programmes. It also reinstates federal employees who were furloughed during the shutdown.

The shutdown began on 1 October after negotiations over federal spending priorities broke down. Thousands of federal workers were furloughed or forced to work without pay, while many government services were curtailed or suspended.

Democrats had sought to compel Republicans to extend Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies and reverse cuts to the Medicaid programme for lower-income Americans. Neither goal was achieved, with Republicans agreeing only to a later Senate vote on ACA subsidies set to expire at the end of the year.

Copied