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President Trump in the Rose Garden announcing the shutdown. (WhiteHouse.gov)

President Donald J. Trump signed into law late Friday a three-week spending bill to fund about a quarter of government operations. That ended the longest government shutdown in history. But the White House is already talking about another shutdown — unless Democrats on Capitol Hill agree to a $5.7 billion wall.

So now what?

This is Trahant Reports.

The practical takes over this week. Government agencies have a lot to catch up on. Work piling up. Contracts. Phone messages. Decisions. Even collecting garbage. Basically the works. This will take time.

There will be a lot of demand, for example, from tribes and non-profit organizations to get cash flow restarted to pay for self-governance and other contracts with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Indian Health Service.

As for employees, the White House acting chief of staff, said the government will move quickly to get paychecks out this week.

But what happens next depends on the president. Any deal that results from Congress will likely be the product of a give and take between the Senate and the House. It will not be the president’s demand for a wall or else. So will he shut the government again?

The White House is already saying yes. That started Friday when the president made the announcement about the government reopening. “So let me be very clear,” he said. “We really have no choice but to build a powerful wall or steel barrier. If we don’t get a fair deal from Congress, the government will either shut down on February 15th, again, or I will use powers afforded to me under the laws and the Constitution of the United States … “

That leaves the White House with the option of trying to build a wall using emergency powers instead of an appropriation from Congress.

That could unite Republicans who think the declaration of an emergency is a poor way to govern. And they are not much happier with another shutdown.

Congress has the power of the purse. It can override the president on spending or legislation. That could happen quickly if there is another shutdown fight.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, for example, apologized to federal workers and said she is supporting measures to make certain that it does not happen again. She said: “If there was every any silver lining to this, it was to understand that there was no good reason for a shutdown ever.”

This could also spur legislation, introduced by Sen. Tom Udall, of New Mexico, a Democrat, to protect the revenue to tribes through the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Indian Health Service. Essentially taking them out of any shutdown plans.

There could be a wave of support from both Republicans and Democrats looking for a new way to budget, one that excludes the possibility of a shutdown.

I am Mark Trahant

Photo. Waiting for a thaw in Washington. (Mark Trahant photo)

When will the longest government shutdown in history end?

This is Trahant Reports.

South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Republican, who’s a close ally of President Donald J. Trump, told Fox News over the weekend that the president should open the government for “a short period of time, like three weeks” and then negotiate again with Congress. If we can’t at the end of three weeks, well, all bets are off, then he said the president could do it himself through emergency powers.

Washington is frozen because the president, the Republicans in the House and the Senate, and the House Democrats do not have enough power to say “yes.” Only no, not that. So the White House insists on a border wall and the Democrats say fund government and then let’s talk about the wall. That’s followed by a dismissal of a coast-to-coast border wall that would cost far more than the $5 billion-plus requested by the president.

A couple of polls published over the weekend show that most Americans are blaming President Trump and Republicans for the government shutdown. CNN reports that it found that more than half of all those surveyed — 55 percent — blame the president. The poll found 32 percent blamed Democrats and 9 percent said both were responsible. The Washington Post and ABC News said polls showed 53 percent blamed the president and 29 percent Democrats. The polls also found that most Americans discounted a “crisis” at the border and called it a problem.

The Senate could end the shutdown by taking up several funding bills already passed by the House of Representatives. Those bills would likely be vetoed by the president, but Congress could vote to override the veto with a two-thirds majority.

Across the country tribes, federal employees, contractors, and nonprofits are reporting about the significant hardships. On the Blackfeet Nation there was food distribution for employees who are not being paid. The Rosebud Sioux Tribe said the situation could grow far worse if there is not a resolution soon.

In Albuquerque, an federal employee told Indian Country Today “nearly everyone is furloughed at BIA’s ABQ office” including Human Resources, Environmental Safety, Facilities, Construction, Land titles and Records, and Accounting. “One thing people who are furloughed are doing is applying for unemployment and / or local credit unions are giving 90 days of 0 percent interest loans, if this isn’t resolved,” the worker reported. “Next week I’ll be going to my credit union to take a loan to cover my bills (student loans, mortgage, groceries, car payment, insurance, gas, etc.). Once I get my paycheck, I’ll pay my credit union back.”

As a famous tweeter might put it: Sad. There’s nothing like a personal loan to the United States of America.

I am Mark Trahant.

Shutdown is Over

Frozen Washington