President Donald Trump on Monday said he approves of a pending deal in the Senate that would bring the record-breaking U.S. government shutdown to an end.
“I would say so,” Trump said in the Oval Office, “based on everything I’m hearing” about the deal, which cleared a key procedural hurdle in the Senate on Sunday night.
Any bill to fund the government and end the shutdown, which is now on day 41, would have to be signed by Trump to take effect.
When asked whether he would sign off on a reversal of his administration’s shutdown-related mass layoffs — a key component of the agreement as it currently stands — Trump said he would “abide by the deal.”
Trump’s remarks included the caveat that he would support the agreement “if it’s the deal I heard about.”
He also said, “they want to change the deal a little bit,” but went on to note, “they haven’t changed anything.”
“We have support from enough Democrats, and we’re going to be opening up our country … very quickly,” he added.
The breakthrough in the Senate late Sunday followed weeks of failed votes on a Republican-backed bill that would temporarily resume government funding at current levels, as well as an alternative from Democrats that included health care protections and other measures.
Democrats specifically sought to permanently extend enhanced tax credits under the Affordable Care Act, which are set to expire by year’s end.
The agreement that broke the stalemate provides no guarantee about the Obamacare tax credits, but it includes a guarantee from GOP Senate leaders that the chamber will vote on a Democratic health care bill by mid-December.