US President Donald Trump said Friday he has reached a deal to temporarily reopen the federal government after a month-long shutdown, an agreement that won't include new funding for a border wall despite weeks of the President's once-ironclad demands.

“I am very proud to announce today that we have reached a deal to end the shutdown and reopen the federal government,” Trump said in remarks from the Rose Garden.

The measure, Trump said, would allow federal workers to resume being paid as Democratic and Republican lawmakers convene to discuss the administration's requests for border security funding.

Trump stopped short of declaring a national emergency to secure border wall funding without Congress but suggested he hadn't yet ruled out that prospect.

“As everyone knows I have a very powerful alternative but I'm not going to use it at this time,” Trump said.

The stopgap funding measure that Trump endorsed on Friday would fund the government through February 15, but does not include any new funding for Trump's promised border wall.

Trump spent the past weeks demanding that any measure reopening the government include $5.7 billion in funding for a barrier on the US-Mexico border, which was a signature campaign promise.

But amid mounting pressure from Republican lawmakers and a budding air travel meltdown, Trump appeared to agree to Democrats’ request that government be reopened before the border wall funding issue be debated.

Once the short-term measure is passed, lawmakers will return to negotiations over the money while federal workers return to their jobs.
Leading up to Trump's remarks, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer was in direct talks with the White House over finalising the deal's language, the people familiar with the matter said.

Federal workers have now gone for two pay periods without paychecks. Trump said from the Rose Garden that workers, who went for weeks without pay, would receive wages soon.

“I will make sure that all employees receive their back pay very quickly or as soon as possible. It'll happen fast,” Trump said.
The US President thanked federal workers while announcing the deal to reopen the government for their “devotion in the face of this recent hardship.”

“When I say make America great again – it could never be done without you,” Trump said, calling federal workers “great people.”

Once the measure is passed, lawmakers will have three weeks to reach an agreement that addresses Trump's standing border wall funding request.

If they don't reach a deal in that span, Trump could still invoke a national emergency, people familiar with the matter said.