Trump agrees to reopen government for three weeks

President Trump has announced a deal with congressional leaders to temporarily reopen the government while talks continue on his demand for border wall money. Under the deal, the government will be open for three weeks.

The Democrats, who won this round with Trump, aren’t going to give him his wall funding during the upcoming negotiations. So what happens after three weeks?

Trump says there might be another government shutdown or he might declare a national emergency and direct the military to build the wall without congressional consent. The only other alternative, it seems to me, is complete capitulation on the wall by Trump.

I don’t see the point of another shutdown showdown. Trump must have concluded that he was losing this one, or would lose it eventually because Republicans would start defecting. What reason does he have to believe a second shutdown installment would go better for him?

It seems to me that declaring an emergency and trying to build the wall without congressional approval is the best option, politically, for Trump at this point. Courts might block him, but if they do, that’s a better outcome for him than giving up and probably a better option than another shutdown.

And who knows? Maybe the administration will ultimately prevail in court.

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