Government Shutdown Ends UPDATE

On Friday, January 25, President Trump announced the end of the government shutdown. Congress passed a spending bill that reopened the government; the bill includes the repayment of workers affected by the shutdown but lacks negotiations towards the building of the wall. President Trump said Congress will have until February 15 to come up with a bill to support the border wall or risk another government shutdown.

UPDATE:

On February 15, 2019, President Trump declared a national emergency. It would allocate funds from the Department of Defense’s funding to build the border wall. According to Adam Smith, the incoming chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, although the President has the jurisdiction for the declaration, it will not go unchallenged in the courts. 58 former National Security officials signed in protest against the declaration. The House is set to vote on a resolution to block the National Emergency on Tuesday, February 26. If successful, it would halt the declaration to build the wall.