What Happened?

On Jan. 20, the one year anniversary of President Donald Trump’s inauguration, his administration and Congress failed to reach a deal for federal funding of government agencies that resulted in a shutdown.

The shutdown lasted three days and finally ended on Monday when Democrats and Republicans voted 81-18 in favor of reopening the federal government. The House of Representatives must now approve the deal, but according to New York Democrat and Congress Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, that is just a formality.

“In a few hours, the government will reopen,” Schumer told reporters following the vote on Monday. “We have a lot to do.”

According to a White House press statement, this is the seventh shutdown of the Federal Government since 1980. The last time it happened was in 2013, during former President Barack Obama’s tenure. The shutdown began on Oct. 1, 2013 and lasted 16 days.

There were more than 20 bipartisan senators who worked through the weekend to finally create something both parties were happy with. The new bill funds the Children’s Health Insurance Program for six more years and also temporarily suspends several taxes associated with the Affordable Care Act, commonly referred to as Obamacare.

Another major point of contention between the two sides was immigration policy, specifically the DREAM Act. Since Trump took over, more than 800,000 Dreamers’ statuses have been in limbo because of impending changes to the program and the immigration policy overall by the Trump administration.

On Monday, Schumer said on the Senate floor that he and the Republican Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell, had come to an agreement to take a three week time period where they could negotiate the DREAM Act and the Dreamers’ futures.

McConnell took to the floor later and said he would agree to a “free and open debate” on the immigration issue next month if an agreement had not already been reached by then.

The White House released a statement from Trump following the vote where he said the “Democrats in Congress have come to their senses,” and “my Administration will work toward solving the problem of very unfair illegal immigration.”

Many critics slammed Trump for not being physically present at the negotiations. However, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters on Monday that the deal Senate voted on was similar to the one Trump discussed with Schumer on Friday and he was heavily involved.

Some Democrats and news outlets criticized Schumer for agreeing to a deal without an official immigration policy in place of a decision on the Dreamers.