Reactions from all political leanings have been pouring in after U.S. President Donald Trump announced he made a deal with Democrats to end the month-long government shutdown for three weeks, but without the $5.7 billion border wall funding that was the reason the shutdown began.
Some said that the shutdown was a blunder for Trump, in which he lost political support, forced hundreds of thousands of workers to go without pay and all for nothing.
Conservative commentator Ann Coulter had especially harsh words for Trump, calling him a “wimp” in a tweet.
“Good news for George Herbert Walker Bush,” she wrote. “As of today, he is no longer the biggest wimp ever to serve as President of the United States.”
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Democrats responded to the deal by highlighting the apparent pointlessness of the shutdown, given that no new ground was made.
Sen. Bernie Sanders tweeted: “How pathetic. On Dec. 19, the Senate unanimously passed essentially the same legislation that we will vote on today. We are back to exactly where we started.
“Thank you, Mr. President, for shutting down the government and holding 800,000 federal employees hostage. All for nothing!”
Other Democrat Senators had similar sentiments as Sanders.
Republicans generally supported Trump’s decision, some switching their earlier positions.
Sen. Lindsey Graham had said that if Trump gave in it would be “the end of his presidency,” but now he says it is a “win-win” situation and the “last best chance” to tackle the U.S.’s “broken borders and a broken immigration system.”
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Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch MicConnell said he is “glad to see” the agreement was reached and federal workers will “not have to go longer without pay for their work, and will receive their back pay.”
Republican representatives Fred Upton and Don Bacon are also in favour of the deal, highlighting that it was necessary to end the “nightmare” of the shutdown’s consequences and saying it is now up to the Democrats to negotiate in good faith a bi-partisan immigration solution.
Commentators noted that the shutdown, which hasn’t accomplished anything, has left some workers with no backpay and it has done little but create disdain between the political parties and hurt Trump’s poll numbers and relations with his allies.
The deal to end the shutdown will have a bipartisan panel work on a package that includes border security before a February 15 deadline, Trump said, adding that he would declare a national emergency if no deal is reached.