WASHINGTON, Feb 2 (Reuters) – U.S. lawmakers in Congress are nearing a resolution aimed ending a partial government shutdown, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday.
Trump told reporters that he had spoken with House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune and they indicated that “they’re pretty close to a resolution.”
He said he had also spoken with Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer numerous times and did not believe Democrats wanted to see a shutdown.
A partial shutdown took effect at 12:01 a.m. Eastern time (0501 GMT) after Congress failed to approve a deal to keep a wide swath of operations funded, but it is expected to be brief, with lawmakers from both parties working to reach a deal.
Johnson said on Sunday he believes he has the Republican votes to end a partial government shutdown within days and that the chamber will debate Immigration and Customs Enforcement reforms for two weeks after that.
Trump said last year’s shutdown, which lasted a record 43 days, knocked U.S. gross domestic product down by 1.5 percentage points,
The Senate easily passed a spending package on Friday but the House of Representatives is out of town.
The deal approved by the Senate would separate the Department of Homeland Security from the broader spending package. This would allow lawmakers to approve funding for agencies such as the Pentagon and the Department of Labor while new restrictions are considered on federal immigration agents amid uproar after two U.S. citizens were shot dead in Minneapolis.
(Reporting by Steve Holland, writing by Andrea Shalal)
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