US government shutdown ends

The US government shutdown has come to an end after a temporary funding bill was passed by lawmakers and signed by Donald Trump late last night.

The bill guarantees federal government funding until 8 February, “in the hope that Congress can reach a longer-term budget agreement in the meantime” the BBC reports.

The shutdown began at midnight on Friday night, when Democrats refused to fund the government unless Republicans agreed to protect more than 700,000 so-called “Dreamers” – young immigrants who had been brought into the US illegally while they were children.

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Last night, however, most Democrats in the Senate agreed to pass the funding bill following an agreement between Republican leader Mitch McConnell and his Democrat counterpart Charles Schumer to debate the matter in February.

The bill then passed by 81 votes to 18. The no votes consisted of 16 Democrats, including a number of possible candidates for president in 2020, and two “libertarian-minded Republicans”, The Guardian says.

The Washington Post says the pact between McConnell and Schumer “unnerved liberal activists”, who remain unsure that McConnell will come through with his end of the bargain.

The President, however, was delighted. “I am pleased that Democrats in Congress have come to their senses,” Donald Trump said. “We will make a long-term deal on immigration if, and only if, it is good for our country.”