Washington, D.C. — In response to President Donald Trump’s announcement to temporarily end the government shutdown, Neera Tanden, president and CEO of the Center for American Progress, issued the following statement:
Yesterday, the Senate voted on a clean and bipartisan continuing resolution. It failed, because Trump wouldn’t concede on his unpopular border wall demands. Now, in the face of a rapidly worsening government shutdown, the president has finally agreed to fund the government to salvage his State of the Union appearance. Given that the agreement will not include unnecessary and unpopular border wall funding, Trump’s five-week government shutdown was a complete waste of time that needlessly inflicted pain on millions of American workers and their families, businesses, and communities.
While this new agreement will allow all 800,000 federal workers to return to work and receive back pay, Congress must ensure that the president’s requests—as well as future negotiations on immigration policy—do not harm immigrant communities. Let’s not forget that the American people rejected Trump’s border fearmongering—repudiating Trump in a landslide—and we expect Congress to listen to the American people.
For more information on this topic or to talk to an expert, please contact Rafael Medina at [email protected] or 202-478-5313.