Trump waited 5 weeks to get nothing out of the shutdown


President Trump could've given up on his border wall five weeks ago, and the only difference would've been how many American lives he disrupted.
On Friday, Trump announced he and Congress had agreed to a deal to end the longest ever government shutdown, coming after a lack of federal employees had closed one of America's busiest airports. The deal reopens the government until Feb. 15, contains no additional money for a border wall, and basically makes Trump's entire 35-day-long holdout worthless, conservative critics said.
Way back in December, six government departments lost funding because Trump refused to agree to any bill that didn't include $5.7 billion in border wall funding. Democrats offered $1.6 billion and nothing more, which Trump refused. And things only got worse from there.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
On their first day in the majority, House Democrats passed wall funding-less bills to reopen most of the government until the end of the year. They would only fund Homeland Security for a month, giving Trump a quick chance to renegotiate his wall. But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) wouldn't bring them for a vote because he said Trump wouldn't sign them, so the House passed similar bills again to no avail. Rinse and repeat until two Senate bills, one from Trump with his original $5.7 billion desire and one from Democrats with nothing, failed Thursday. Funny enough, the Democratic bill looks awfully similar to the deal Trump publicly agreed to pass Friday.
To break it down, Trump could've had $1.6 billion for border security and made a deal with Democrats in two weeks. But for now, he has nothing but a dismally sunken approval rating and 800,000 federal workers in need of a long-overdue paycheck that totals more than his $5.7 billion wall demand itself.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
Scientists want to fight malaria by poisoning mosquitoes with human blood
Under the radar Drugging the bugs
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Crossword: March 31, 2025
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published
-
Sudoku medium: March 31, 2025
The Week's daily medium sudoku puzzle
By The Week Staff Published
-
The JFK files: the truth at last?
In The Spotlight More than 64,000 previously classified documents relating the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy have been released by the Trump administration
By The Week Staff Published
-
Supreme Court upholds 'ghost gun' restrictions
Speed Read Ghost guns can be regulated like other firearms
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump sets 25% tariffs on auto imports
Speed Read The White House says the move will increase domestic manufacturing. But the steep import taxes could also harm the US auto industry.
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump allies urge White House to admit chat blunder
Speed Read Even pro-Trump figures are criticizing The White House's handling of the Signal scandal
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Waltz takes blame for texts amid calls for Hegseth ouster
Speed Read Democrats are calling for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and national security adviser Michael Waltz to step down
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Judge: Nazis treated better than Trump deportees
speed read U.S. District Judge James Boasberg reaffirmed his order barring President Donald Trump from deporting alleged Venezuelan gang members
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US officials share war plans with journalist in group chat
Speed Read Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg was accidentally added to a Signal conversation about striking Yemen
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Canada's Mark Carney calls snap election
speed read Voters will go to the polls on April 28 to pick a new government
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published